ProRodeo Sports News - October 14, 2022

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Gary Williams, longtime Tucson GM, passes away Gary Williams, the first general

BY THE NUMBERS 3 The number of times a father and two sons have qualified to compete in the National Finals Steer Roping. James, Guy, and Gip Allen did it in 1983 and then Dan, Vin Jr., and J. Tom Fisher, accomplished it twice in 2010 and 2013. Dan became the oldest qualifier for the NFSR in 2013 at 62 years, 4 months. Guy Allen won a PRCA-record 18 steer roping world championships. Vin Fisher Jr. and J. Tom Fisher will be making their 19th and 10th appearances at the NFSR, Nov. 4-5 in Mulvane, Kan. $17K The amount of money ($17,404) earned by Brody Wells on the way to winning the crown at the Brad Gjermundson Extreme Broncs on Oct. 8 in New Town, N.D. $14.1M The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge will have a record payout of $14.1 million. The Wrangler NFR is Dec. 1-10 in Las Vegas.

“We grew into a top 25 rodeo (in the PRCA) and a lot of that is because of what Gary brought to the table.” As general manager of the Tucson Rodeo, he was responsible for the overall everyday operations that included securing sponsors, enlisting cowboy athletes to participate, and putting on the biggest sporting event in Southern Arizona. While responsible for taking the

manager in the history of the Tucson Rodeo and a local icon, passed away Oct. 2 in Tucson, Ariz. He was 73. In 1996, after 71 years, the Tucson Rodeo Committee hired Williams as its first paid employee and its first general manager, and he stayed in that position until December of 2021 when he retired. He also served as the interim general manager in 1995.

Williams

“I can honestly say with as many people as I know in the rodeo community, I’ve never known a man with greater passion for the sport of rodeo than Gary Williams,” said Jose Calderon, Chairman, La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson Rodeo. “Whether it was the Tucson (Ariz.) rodeo or any other rodeo out there, his knowledge, wisdom, and the respect he had for other people not only in the rodeo world, but just in general was incredible.

rodeo forward into the 21st century, Williams kept the rodeo true to its historical roots and traditions that it has had for more than three-quarters of a century. The mustached, affable Williams was part of the La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo committee since 1987. Williams, a Tucson native, earned a business degree from the University of Arizona.

Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo recovering after Hurricane Ian The aftermath of Hurricane Ian has left residents of Florida and the Southeast reeling in a deadly path of destruction. The storm made landfall Sept. 28 near but we aren’t going to be able to hold that now because the entire place has to be inspected,” Hall said. “We also have a lot of people who have their own issues to take care of on our committee. “It’s one of those things when you live in

the island of Cayo Costa, Fla., which is an hour southwest of Arcadia. Don Hall, President of the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo, said while the fairgrounds and arena suffered minimal damage the community continues to feel the impact. “Fortunately, our rodeo grounds have minimal damage,” said Hall. “A lot of our area has been affected by the high water and flooding after the storm. It has closed a lot of roads and some people in the county couldn’t even get out of their homes. We got pounded for about eight hours down here. It was really a bad storm.” The extended recovery process and cleanup forced the rodeo committee to make the difficult decision to cancel the annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Fall Rodeo, which was set to take place Oct. 15-16. “We were set to go with a rodeo in October,

Florida it’s going to happen. We will recover and we are working on it right now. Unfortunately, the rodeo is not going to be able to happen, but we are hopeful our rodeo in the spring can happen in March.” The rodeo is doing its part to help the community in a time of need. The Mosaic Arena and surrounding fairground area has been opened to animals that had to be evacuated and those tasked with recovery and repair efforts across southwest Florida. “The good news is our fairgrounds has been able to be a staging area for our Florida Power & Light companies,” Hall said. “FEMA is right in that area as well as the (American) Red Cross. We also opened it up for people to bring horses in to get away from the coast when we knew the storm was headed our way.”

ProRodeo Sports News 10/14/2022

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