Volunteers make Sisters rodeo run

Fifty to 80 members of Sisters Rodeo Association are tackling construction improvements at the rodeo grounds, every Saturday and during the week, in preparation for the 69th annual Sisters Rodeo.

"We are having phenomenal work parties," said rodeo President Glenn Miller, who promised the membership last fall that this would be a "light workload year." Rodeo membership has learned to respond to these messages from their president with humor.

Under this light work load, the perimeter fence outside the rodeo arena has been extended 30 feet, enhancing movement throughout the public area of the grounds. Rodeo spectators will appreciate being able to walk to favorite food vendors, the rodeo store, listen to the music of Tony Lompa or access seating in wide-open pedestrian lanes.

Added to that, it is the end of an era in which members are committed to moving hoses and sprinklers to water the interior lawn from May to October. With the volunteer assistance of Mike Burke, the lawn is having an automatic sprinkler system installed.

The area is a maze of trenches for new water lines now, but will be fully functional and leveled by rodeo weekend.

There are also improvements in the irrigation system for the grounds and cowboy camping areas, assuring that Sisters Rodeo will continue to be among the prettiest settings for a rodeo in the nation.

In the bleachers, nearly 100 stressed and weathered boards and steps have been replaced. The paint crew, about 10 of the most consistent and determined group of women this side of the Pecos, are giving a cosmetic finish to every fence, boardwalk, building and sign on the grounds.

Behind the chutes, there are new pens for improved security and safety of rodeo livestock that travels from Washington to Sisters. Layout of aisles has been changed to make loading, unloading and sorting animals easier for the livestock, stock contractors and chute-area volunteers. New water lines for watering livestock have been buried in trenches under the aisles.

In late May, big, stocky, tough-as-nails volunteers will transport and stack 20 tons of hay for livestock that will make it disappear in a week. Rodeo members, Manco and Sandy Snapp, donate the hay.

The rodeo association depends entirely on the willingness of its members and community volunteers for construction, improvements and general maintenance of the rodeo grounds. The hard work is rewarded by a five-star lunch served on Saturday afternoon by a kitchen crew supervised by Chef Hans Teufl.

The board of directors, who are in the trenches as much as any volunteer, feels that the association has a current active membership that rivals any non-profit organization anywhere.

As a result of their good-natured willingness to get down and dirty to make this the most inviting rodeo in the West, Sisters Rodeo continues to attract the best professional PRCA cowboys and WPRA cowgirls in the world.

Tickets are still available for the June 12-14 rodeo at the rodeo ticket office, 220 E. Cascade Ave. in Sisters, or by calling 549-0121 or 800-827-7522.