Howdy LSGRA Members and Friends,

Well, Mardi Gras is over and its time we get back on track with LSGRA.

Convention was a huge success and then the post-convention blues, Christmas holidays, New Years and then Mardi Gras has taken a toll on everyone. We want to thank all the volunteers, both local and international, the local bars that sponsored events and the businesses that donated time, talent and prizes which resulted in LSGRA’s first IGRA event a huge success! Now it is time to get back to some serious work.

IGRA University and 2009 Dance Competition was held in Las Vegas Nevada February 20-22. Six of LSGRA’s members traveled to compete in the Dance Competition. Collectively, the group is known as Louisiana Hot Sauce (Pam Simmons, Leigh Broschat, Chip Bowden, Jeff Haller, Rick Robertson & Jeff Skelpsa). Our 2007 Division III (Beginner Couples) 1st Place team of Pam Simmons and Leigh Broschat returned to compete in the Division II (Intermediate Couples) competition. Once again, Pam and Leigh brought buckles home to LSGRA taking 1st Place! Jeff Haller and Rick Robertson competed in the Division IV (First Time competitors). They took 1st Place as well bringing home another 2 buckles for LSGRA. This was the first year that LSGRA had a team dance entry into the competition and the first time that this team has competed. Congrats to them for winning 2nd Place ! We hope to see more of them in the near future as all 6 currently live in the Atlanta area but are members of LSGRA !

General meetings have been changed to Saturdays. With few exceptions, the General Meeting will be held on the FIRST Saturday of the month in conjunction with our Cowboy Roundup and Beer Bust! The Board voted to change the meetings to Saturday to make it easier for out-of-town members to attend. Our goal this year is to increase our out-of-town membership and participation. We have had a number of inquiries from folks interested in LSGRA from Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles. We hope that they will become members and involved in LSGRA this year. The Board will be planning a couple of membership drives in those cities this year. Remember this is the Louisiana State Gay Rodeo Association!

Speaking of members, have you renewed your membership for the 2009 year? To remain current and a member in good standing, you must pay your membership by the April 2009 meeting. The application is available by clicking on the “MEMBER APP” tab. You can mail your check or drop it off in person at the next General Meeting.

We have several upcoming events including the 2009 Royalty Competition and Crowning, General Meeting and Cowboy Roundup – all on Saturday March 7th at All-Ways (formally Cowpokes). In April, the Wacky Wagon Race II will be held on Saturday, April 18, and the Spring Angola Rodeo Roadtrip will be on Sunday April 19th. All of these events and more are listed on our Calendar of Events ( http://lsgra.club.officelive.com/calendar.aspx ). The calendar will be updated regularly so please bookmark the page and check it often!

We have a new Rodeo Director, Wade Griffith. Wade has been active in IGRA for over 10 years. In that time, he has been a competitor, judge, scorekeeper, arena director, chute coordinator, rodeo director and numerous officer positions including trustee. We welcome Wade’s expertise. He is currently working on the Rodeo Proposal for LSGRA’s first IGRA sanctioned rodeo for March 2010. For us to put on this rodeo, we will need for LSGRA to grow and have more active members. There are approximately 10 committee chairs on the Rodeo Roundtable which will need to be filled as well as persons serving on these committees. So let’s COWBOY UP! This is YOUR rodeo association and we need YOU!

Hold on to your saddle cowboys and cowgirls, it's gonna be a rough ride!