The late Gary Williams put a stamp on the Tucson Rodeo that will last forever; his friends miss him, remember him and revere him.
The La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo will be wrapped up by then. Cowboys will have hitched rides to other rodeos throughout the Southwest in search of buckles and buckle bunnies. Cowgirls will have packed up with their beloved horses and be on the road to another jackpot. Vendors will have moved onto parts unknown to peddle their corndogs made of parts unknown.
People are also reading… There’s been so much to do over this last month, so many finishing touches for the 2023 Tucson Rodeo, that Calderon hasn’t really had a chance to think about his friend, Gary Williams, the former longtime rodeo general manager. Williams died in October, with Calderon and other friends and family at his bedside, just 14 months after retiring from a position he’d held since 1995.
After joining the Tucson Rodeo Committee in 1987 and eventually becoming the rodeo chair, Williams became the event’s first paid employee when he was named general manager in 1995. Under his stewardship, the rodeo blossomed into one of the best in the country until he retired in 2020, before the 2021 event was cancelled because of COVID, its first cancellation since World War II.
There Calderon was, standing on the grounds, looking and feeling rather aimless, when Williams came around the corner wearing a long-sleeve Texas shirt and a Texas baseball hat. Instantly, Calderon thought, “Oh, man, this guy is someone here in Tucson rodeo.” Williams made a beeline for the new volunteer and extended a hand and a howdy.
It was an education. In rodeo, in organization, in the smell of the right dirt, in the integrity in a man’s eye. “I had him on speed dial,” said Jim Williams, former chair of the Canby Rodeo Committee. “And I knew when his name came up, it was going to be a half-hour discussion.” Somehow, someway, they’d find themselves sitting next to each other at rodeo conventions and committee meetings, and they’d laugh at newcomers who talked about new fads and newfangled initiatives.
He and John Rhodes crossed paths because of the Tucson Rodeo, but they bonded over their “own little book club.” Books about rodeo, of course, but also about the Bataan Death March and Douglas MacArthur and Philippine guerilla soldiers. They had plans this spring to go up to Pleasant Valley to a ranch that Rhodes’ family once owned. They were both really looking forward to it, the conversations, the history, the heritage, the laughs. Mainly the laughs.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
Annual Barn Dance is back at the Tucson RodeoAfter all of the competition events at the rodeo finish, the rodeo holds the annual barn dance that attracts people from all over Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Baca lebih lajut »
Photos: Day Two at the Tucson RodeoThe Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo continues through Sunday. Tuesday, Feb. 21 is the second day of slack events. School children filled the stands and cheered on the competitors. The gates open at 11:00 a.m. each day.
Baca lebih lajut »
Attend the 2023 Rodeo Parade in Downtown Houston SaturdayHead to the Rodeo Parade in downtown Houston on Saturday to get into the excitement of the upcoming Rodeo season!
Baca lebih lajut »
Letters, Feb. 20: Motorized horses for SA rodeoRead the Express-News letters to the editor for Feb. 20.
Baca lebih lajut »
5 ways to save on your trip to the Houston Livestock Show and RodeoRodeoHouston runs from Feb. 28 to March 19 at NRG park. We are working to bring you ways to save on everything RodeoHouston related. Planning your trip now can help save money in the future.
Baca lebih lajut »
Rodeo Remembers: Youth ScholarshipsAs of 2022, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo has awarded $232 million in scholarships to San Antonio-area youths. ChevyDrivesTX Sponsored
Baca lebih lajut »