4-2-21 Digital PSN - Hi Res

The JCCF lends a helping hand to professional rodeo athletes and their families in the event of serious injuries resulting from professional rodeo activities and fills the void of financial hardship when a serious injury interferes with the careers of those who have dedicated their lives to the sport. Potter competed in the inaugural National Finals Rodeo in Dallas in 1959 as a tie-down roper, finishing 14th in the final standings. As recently as 2010, he qualified for the RAMGreat Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo as a team roper, and on July 17, 2013, Potter and partner Garrison Dixon won the Green County Fair ProRodeo in Monroe, Wis. Combine Potter’s longevity as a competitor with his decade of success (1964-73) as a stock contractor with Rodeos Inc., and his time served on the PRCA Board of Directors, and it added up to him being selected by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame as the 2015 Legend of ProRodeo. Potter puts on the Mike Cervi Jr. Memorial Pro Classic with the help of George Aros, a team roping header who qualified for the NFR from 1980-83. “This Mike Cervi Jr. Memorial Pro Classic is held pretty much in conjunction with the Tucson (Ariz.) rodeo,” Aros said. “We moved it toWickenburg, Ariz., this year because the Tucson rodeo was canceled (because of COVID-19). We have to thank Ty Yost for letting us have the event at Rancho Rio, his place inWickenburg, and I’m very grateful we were able to have the event at all because of (COVID-19). “I owe the PRCA a debt of gratitude. I went to the NFR four times,

and in those four years got a lot of publicity because I was roping with the Camarillos (Leo and Jerold) who were the best in the world at that time. Basically, everybody now knows who I am because of that, and this is my way of returning the favor to the PRCA to the team roping industry.” Aros started the event in 1982, but at the time it wasn’t a fundraiser. It became the Mike Cervi Jr. Memorial Pro Classic in 2002, moving to Casa Grande, Ariz. The 2022 event is scheduled for the last week in February. “I would say I’m going to hand this roping over to somebody some day and this roping is going to live on as long as there is team roping in rodeo,” Aros said. “The more cowboys we can get at the event, the more money we can raise for the JCCF.” Potter agreed with Aros. “We have had a lot of good sponsors who have really helped, and that’s what has made it work,” Potter said. “This roping has turned into a nice thing and I’m happy to help them. I talked George into changing the event name to the Mike Cervi Jr. Memorial, and I stepped in and talked to all my friends and sponsors and got them to come onboard. I’m 86 now and I’ve kind of turned it (back) over to George and things have continued. “I think this not only memorializes Mike, but it is a good roping for the guys, and we are able to give a good donation to the JCCF. I’m tickled that we are able to do this.”

PRCA ProRodeo file photo Heeler Jerold Camarillo and header George Aros compete during the 1981 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, Okla. Aros made a name for himself in team roping, qualifying for the NFR four years in a row from 1980-83.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/2/2021

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