ProRodeo Sports News - October 19, 2018

JCCF

Giving Back

Retired bareback rider Matt Weishoff displays a bench he made from an old section of the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo’s grandstand. Weishoff donated two benches to be auctioned to raise money for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. Photo courtesy St. Paul Rodeo 1990, to raise money for the cowboys.” Giving back to the cowboys who entertain the millions of PRCA fans is one way to show appreciation for the best competitors in Pro Rodeo. The Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund has plenty of volunteers who make sure they raise money to help out competitors who might get hurt and are unable to provide for their families while they get healthy. Sue Coleman chairs the fundraising for JCCF at the St. Paul Rodeo. The auction at St. Paul is both live and silent, and it’s not hard for Coleman to find items to auction. “It’s just amazing,” she said. “People come up to me and tell me they have an item for the auction. I don’t have to solicit very hard. Plenty of people approach me with things.” Both Coleman andThurman have seen the response from the cowboys, who know that fundraising is there to benefit them. “They ask, ‘Where do I sign, where can I help?’” Coleman said. “I’ve never had anybody say, no, I can’t help you, or give me a cross look. They jump on it: ‘How can I help you? What do you need me to do?’” The golf tournament began as a memorial fundraiser the summer cowboys Mike Curran, Randy Dierlam, David Bowen and David Smith died in an airplane crash on Mount Rainier in 1990. The money donated that year went to help the families for services. Since, it’s become a fundraiser during Pendleton week, and one the cowboys are thankful for. “We hear it all the time,” Thurman said. “I can remember years ago (ProRodeo Hall of Famer) Dee Pickett taking me aside and telling me that this is important for him to come to Pendleton every year and play in this because he wants to give something back because of how important the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund has been.”

Rodeos set the benchmark for JCCF fundraisers BY SCOTT KANIEWSKI R etired bareback rider Matt Weishoff started making a bench out of an old section of the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo grandstands. Then he thought maybe he’d make one for the rodeo’s upcoming fundraiser for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. “They were replacing a bunch of the old wood benches for the open, outdoor seating,” Weishoff said. “There was a bunch of good stuff there, so I thought I’d make a couple of benches for myself. Then I thought it would be neat to donate one for the auction, and it went over pretty well.” It went over more than “pretty well.” The bench auction garnered such a bidding war between a pair, he offered to make a second bench for the auction so both bidders could have one. Fundraising events at the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo and Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up brought in more than $35,000 in the month of September. St. Paul Rodeo’s Beyond the Boots/Auction/Trail Ride raised $24,353, $2,400 of that coming fromWeishoff ’s benches. Coupled with other money raised, and the St. Paul Rodeo brought in a total of $25,111. “They (the rodeo) love their cowboys and want to keep them coming around,” Weishoff said. The 29th Annual Pendleton Round-Up Foundation Memorial Golf Tournament raised $12,500, thanks to an increase of more than 20 golfers and an additional $2,500 raised. The tournament is a mixture of contestant teams, sponsors and local businessmen. “I’m very proud,” said ButchThurman, one of the tournament organizers and a past president of the Round-Up. “This has been our goal all along since

ProRodeo Sports News 10/19/2018

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