The nominations are out for PRCA end-of-the-year awards. If you are a PRCA card member, I urge you to make your vote count.
Alas, only a small percentage of the membership takes the vote seriously on an annual basis. Part, I’m sure, is apathy; another key reason, though, is that the ballots are sent by “snail mail” to the primary address. For contestants, that could be home or a post office box, but it’s not tagged to where they might be. For instance, several of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the world are just now returning home from their summer-long rodeo adventure.
Weeks, months on the road means there is other business to tend to when one returns home, and that stuff is going to take a priority over filling out a ballot that, in all likelihood, could be lost in the massive shuffle of paperwork that is acquired over a three-month stretch.
The technology is out there, and I suspect it’s time for the PRCA to invest in the computer program that will enable voting to take place from any location and from mobile devices. This goes well beyond the annual awards; it’s time to do this for the better business of the PRCA. This type of technology could better serve the staff, directors and other corespondents by allowing for appropriate and timely input from the entire membership.
Hopefully this step will happen soon. Until then, I urge all PRCA members to dig through their heaps of papers and find those ballots. Make the first significant move in telling the association your thoughts by voting on the awards, whose nominees are:
Announcer
Wayne Brooks, Lampasas, Texas
Randy Corley, Silverdale, Wash.
Mike Mathis, Lufkin, Texas
Boyd Polhamus, Brenham, Texas
Andy Stewart, Collinston, La.
Secretary
Linda Alsbaugh, Alamosa, Colo.
Sunni Deb Backstrom, Congress, Ariz.
Amanda Corley-Sanders, Laramie, Wyo.
Haley Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla.
Vickie Shireman, Elk City, Okla.
Stock Contracting Firm
Beutler & Son Rodeo Company, Elk City, Okla.
Carr Pro Rodeo, Dallas, Texas
Frontier Rodeo Company, Winnie, Texas
Powder River Rodeo, Riverton, Wyo.
Stace Smith Pro Rodeos, Athens, Texas
Dress Act of the Year
Tomas Garcilazo, Oak Hills, Calif.
Jason Goodman, Fort Collins, Colo.
Anthony Lucia, Weatherford, Texas
Melissa Navarre, Weatherford, Okla.
Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls – Jennifer Nicholson and Brandi Phillips, Three Rivers, Calif.
Comedy Act of the Year
Bert Davis, Penn Valley, Calif.
Lecile Harris, Collierville, Tenn.
John Harrison, Soper, Okla.
Keith Isley, Goldston, N.C.
Cody Sosebee, Charleston, Ark.
Mark Swingler, Austin, Texas
Clown of Year
J.J. Harrison, Walla Walla, Wash.
John Harrison, Soper, Okla.
Keith Isley, Goldston, N.C.
Justin Rumford, Ponca City, Okla.
Cody Sosebee, Charleston, Ark.
Bullfighter of Year
Travis Adams, Gary, Texas
Kenny Bergeron, Iota, La.
Kelby Pearah, Mansfield, La.
Dusty Tuckness, Meeteetse, Wyo.
Cody Webster, Wayne, Okla.
Small Rodeo of Year
Crosby, Texas
Elizabeth, Colo.
Goliad, Texas
Huntsville, Texas
Riverton, Wyo.
Medium Rodeo of Year
Coleman, Texas
Crossett, Ark.
Deadwood, S.D.
Estes Park, Colo.
Ogden, Utah
Large Outdoor Rodeo of Year
Cheyenne, Wyo.
Lovington, N.M.
Pendleton, Ore.
Salinas, Calif.
Springdale, Ark.
Large Indoor Rodeo of Year
Denver, Colo.
Fort Worth, Texas
Jackson, Miss.
Rapid City, S.D.
San Antonio, Texas