Coming Events

Friday, April 25 -
Sunday, April 27
Country Western Weekend
Lumberjacks Campground

Friday, May 16
GGRA Bar Night
Atlanta Eagle
10:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 31
Miss Cowpatty Contest
Wild Mustang
7:00 p.m.

Newsletter:
The April 2008 issue of Southern Spurs is available
Read it Here

GGRA Shirts:
Order your official long-sleeve association shirt to wear at events and rodeos
Order Online Here

Available Now:
Join GGRA Online via PayPal.
It's quick, easy and secure!
Join Online Here

Join Our Yahoo Group:
Be sure to stay apprised of what's happening with GGRA. Join our Yahoo! Group today. Click here to join the group

Thanks to our "Unsaddled" Business Sponsors:
   Helmet Hairworx
   Inn Leather Fort Lauderdale
   3 Legged Cowboy
   Poster Hut/Scream
   Lumberjacks Campground
   Florida Gay Rodeo Assn
   James Bowman Massage
   Susan Blalock
 

March 2008

Welcome to the first electronic Southern Spurs newsletter! We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming Georgia Gay Rodeo Association events!

From the President

Howdy, folks! I'm happy to report that we've experienced a whirlwind of activity in the six weeks since the GGRA elections in January. The up-swell of support in the GGRA community has been impressive, and 2008 is looking like a stupendous year for our organization.  It's great to see so many folks who are committed to our community. Here's a quick rundown of some great things that have been happening:

1. One of our first actions as a Board was to agree on focusing on a Membership Drive over the next few months. We thus approved a special $20 rate for individual memberships from now through the end of the Pride weekend this year. There's no better time than now to renew your membership!
2. We held a very successful Saloon Crawl in February as part of our Membership Drive.  We showed our GGRA Pride through 4 bars, handing out information and talking up the organization as we went. Both the Wild Mustang and 3-Legged Cowboy announced that we were in the house and gave us member special drinks.  We met lots of folks who were thrilled to learn more about GGRA and want to get involved. We also got a chance to hang out and meet one another, since there are a lot of new faces in GGRA, and that night really helped bond us as a community too. When all the dust settled, we'd added 11 new paid members in one night, and since then we've gotten further memberships mailed in. Not bad for one night's work, huh?
3. We contacted the Atlanta Gay Sports Alliance, which counts more than 3000 members in all its member groups, and we were invited by them to participate in a membership drive event at Blakes.  We were able to represent for the rodeo in a new venue and in front of a whole new group of potential members. We made a lot of friends that day, and since then, we've been working with the Gay Sports Alliance to join their organization and increase our visibility as an organization in the local gay community.
4. I'm sure you've heard about our upcoming Indoor Play-Day on March 15.  You should make every effort to come, as it's going to be a lot of fun, and a lot of GGRA members have put in a lot of time to make it a great success.  Come out and show your support! Our Play-Day was even mentioned in a recent article in the Southern Voice, which you can find at http://www.sovo.com/2008/3-7/locallife/sports/8216.cfm.
5. At our last board meeting, the Board approved giving $500 each to our two designated charities, Pets Are Loving Support (PALS) and the Grady IDP Pediatrics Wing. We are going to present both with checks at the Indoor Play-Day this week, so please come out as we help support these two very worthy organizations.
6. We're preparing to head down to the Florida Gay Rodeo (April 4-6) to support our sisters and brothers to the South. FGRA is rolling out the red carpet for us:  we're going to be featured in their Grand Entry; we will be able to hand out GGRA information alongside FGRA in its centrally located booth; we will have an event buckle sponsored in the name of GGRA; and we're going to be volunteering for security duty as a group. In order to prepare, several board members are busting their tails to get new shirts, marketing materials, banners and other items done before April so that GGRA shines in Ft. Lauderdale this year!
7. We've also held two very productive Board meetings so far, and we'll be continuing to hold them every month. I encourage everybody to attend board meetings if you can. We'll also be scheduling more general member meetings for the future so that you can have a forum there too.

As you can see, we've been busy, and there's no slowing us down. As you'll see in the Reports of other Board members, we're planning several other fun events for the upcoming months... and yes, we're beginning the planning process for our own 2009 rodeo too! We can't wait to bring the Southern Spurs Rodeo back to Georgia.

If you are a general member or just a friend of GGRA who has not yet taken part in our 2008 activities, please do try to come out and join us. I also want to hear your thoughts and suggestions for how to make us a better organization.  Please email me at president@georgiagayrodeo.com with any issue big or small.

Huge thanks to all the Board Members for all their work in these first hectic months, and Thanks also to those general Members and friends of GGRA (you know who you are!) who have helped us out so much in our endeavors so far. Your enthusiasm and hard work are making us a better organization day by day.
Can't wait to see all of you at the Indoor Play-Day and down in Ft. Lauderdale!

Rodeo up!

Brad Bruner
2008 GGRA President

Vice President's Report

Howdy to all cowboys and cowgirls, and their fans, of the Georgia Gay Rodeo Association from your Vice President.  There are a lot of new and exciting things going on, both now and in the near future that will keep us all busy in our boots.  We truly hope to have everything in place to be able to host the Southern Spurs Rodeo again in 2009.  All volunteers are welcome at any time.   Feel free to contact us at any time with any kind of input as we work together as a family.

Right now, our immediate focus is on both local and national events to get the current members back into the "swing of things," as well as to find new members who wish to join the organization.  At recent events, I have had the pleasure of meeting several of our new members who were all very eager to join, and had thought we had gone away.  For local events, we will be having several group events and meeting where everyone is encouraged to participate.  Also feel free to contact us in regards to attending the national rodeos through the U.S. and Canada as we have several members who attend one or more of those events and going as a group makes a bigger impact that we are more than alive and well.

As your vice president, I am chairing a few committees.  Our main focus right now is on the Membership committee.  We will be attending Pride in full force and we hope to see you all there.  After Pride, the Fundraising committee is going to start contacting local corporations and organizations for donations.  Also after Pride, the Royalty committee is going to form in the hopes of getting our Royalty in place for our 2009 rodeo.  Therefore, if you, or someone you know wants information regarding becoming Mr., Miss., Ms., or MsTer GGRA, please contact me or see any board member those events.  There are also many other committees out there that you may be interested in joining, so don't forget to check our website for the latest information.

Although there are MANY things we need to get done, I hope you are as excited as I am that we are really getting things moving along nicely for our 2009 rodeo.  We may have some bumps and bruises along the way, but as long as we "saddle up" as a tight group, this is going to be one awesome journey into 2009!

Will Fernandez

Rodeo Director's Report

First I would like to say that I consider it an honor to be your 2008 Rodeo Director.  I'm looking forward to the coming year and beyond for GGRA.  There is a lot in store in the near future and it's only getting better.  The indoor play-day "Southern Spurs Un-saddled" is Saturday, March 15, 2008 at the 3 Legged Cowboy.  It is sure to be a success.  I hope to see you all there.  I want to thank Susan Blalock for her hard work in organizing the event.  We will have indoor rodeo events, entertainment, raffle and a silent auction.  It'll be an evening packed with lots to do.  Hope to see you all there.

There are a lot of other events that are coming on the horizon.  We would like to also host another Southern Spurs "Lite" this summer as well as indoor play-days and events with other hosting locations.  If you have ideas or would like to volunteer to chair an event, please contact me.

The Southern Spurs Rodeo rides again!  I have started talks with the Georgia International Horse Park concerning rodeo dates for a 2009 Southern Spurs Rodeo.  They are very excited to have us back at the park and will be giving me some date options soon.  So look for more to come in the near future.  We will be looking for some help laying the foundation for a 2009 rodeo once a date is locked in.  We also have to get our bid to IGRA before convention. 

The future looks bright for GGRA and The Southern Spurs Rodeo.  Let's work together, have some fun, and rodeo!!

Sam Polk
Rodeo Director

From Your Member-at-Large

Well it has been an eventful month and a half for the GGRA. After having board elections on January 26th, the association has been off and running strong. We have had more than 16 new members join 11 of which joined at our saloon crawl in February. With our indoor play date coming up March 15 and the Sunshine Stampede in Ft Lauderdale April 4-6, we are on a roll and picking up momentum!

We are also part of The Atlanta Gay Sports Alliance. This is a great opportunity to get out there and make a name for ourselves as an integral part of the Atlanta gay sports scene!

There are many exciting events planned in the near future from camping trips to the nearly world famous Miss Cow Patty pageant! Please check out our website (http://www.georgiagayrodeo.com) to keep up with all that is going on!

If you have been a member of the GGRA or SEGRA in the past we cordially invite you to come back home and be an active part of the association! If you have never been a part of the Rodeo but would like to be, come out to one of our events and see what we are all about. We would love to have you.

In closing, I would like to thank all members past and present who have endeavored to make the GGRA what it is today and look forward to continued growth and success!

Time to Cowboy up Y'all!!

Richard Wilson
GGRA Member At Large

Trustee's Report

We have a good gang headed to Fort Lauderdale to help with the Sunshine Stampede, hosted by our 'sister' association the FGRA. Then in May is the inaugural Liberty Stampede in Philadelphia. Be sure to attend one of these if you can!

James and I will be at the Calgary and Washington, DC rodeos this year, and also will be attending IGRA Convention in New Orleans at Halloween.

I look forward to seeing you out on the circuit!

Don Harris
Trustee