DUNCAN — Editor’s note: This is an ongoing series of stories focusing on the upcoming PRCA Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo that happens Oct. 18-20.
Events don’t magically happen. They are usually the culmination of months of work by many people. Those people are more often than not, volunteers.
They come together as committees with a common goal or interest in mind.
That’s the case for the PRCA Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo.
Bringing it to Duncan and Stephens County were numerous individuals from throughout southern Oklahoma.
“Events in this community are put on by volunteers,” Committee Chairman Joe Henderson said.
Most of them have years of rodeo experience or are fans of rodeo.
There’s also several people involved who just want to see Duncan’s name associated with something that is a good product, Henderson said.
Besides weekly meetings for nearly 15 months, there have been some fundraising events happening.
Like the weekly Jackpot Barrel Ride each Tuesday at the county fairgrounds.
It is headed by Dana Askins, Sandy Bowden and Manya Reed. That has put about $5,000 into the fund, Henderson said.
“Financially, this is about $110,000 to $120,000 to put this rodeo on,” he said. There’s entertainment and many things involved, he noted.
“We’ll make about $20,000 to $30,000. We know we’re going to make a profit, but we really want something good for Duncan,” Henderson said. “The general public doesn’t realize what it takes to put on something like this.”
In talking about committee members, he praised all those who have hung in there. He said it’s been a lot of work.
“LoisDawn Jones has really stepped up and helped with so much. She has been an advocate for this event,” he said. “The people in this committee are doing this because they want to see something good for this community.”
Jones is director for the Duncan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She’s one of those people who can be seen up at the first morning light, helping with the annual Fall Classic Show, which is Duncan’s biggest tourism revenue producer.
Henderson said it’s the committee’s goal that the rodeo, in three or four years, also becomes that popular.
The difference is that the rodeo is a true spectator sport and is aimed at giving the community something to get involved with.
The rodeo committee begins with a core group of people who were instrumental in helping Duncan secure the event.
They are the Prairie Circuit Board members and are Bronc Rumford, Julie Graber, Melissa Navarre, Shane Henderson and Jesse Pohlman.
Local committee members include Henderson, Mike Anderson (Stephens County Fair & Expo Center Executive Director), Sandra Lindesmith, Mark Crutcher, Sandy and Billy Bowden, Mel and Manya Reed, Shawn Frey, Mary Newman, Chris Deal, Mickey Stewart, Kelsey Avants, Tom Daughtrey, Dana Askins, Dana Schoening, Florence Youree, Junior Harris, S. Susan Van Buskirk, Karen Henderson, Christy Sellers, Lyle Roggow and Sherry Johnson.
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