Glenn Miller is Rodeo Grand Marshal

Growing up in Goshen, Indiana, Glenn Miller raced cars and "dragged the gut," a long stretch from the lifestyle he adopted in Sisters. From cars to rodeo, the President of Sisters Rodeo for the last fourteen years has invested so much of his life in Sisters Rodeo that the organization chose him Grand Marshal of the 2012 rodeo parade.

The announcement was received enthusiastically by 125 people at the March 13 meeting. The selection honors a man who many consider to be the driving force for the growth and success of the oldest tradition in Sisters.

"There may be a few other people who have dedicated as much of their lives to Sisters Rodeo as Glenn Miller in the rodeo's 72-year history, but there is no one else who has led the rodeo with more vision and inspiration than Glenn," said Cathy Williams, last year's grand marshal.

Miller has been the longest-serving president of the 72-year-old association. In 1988, in his first presidency, he convinced the board of directors to join the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, then served a second term. He was elected again in 1999, to be re-elected each consecutive year since. He had to count his framed rodeo buckles, plus the one he wears, to recall how many years he has served in this capacity.

In 1976, he joined Sisters Rodeo Association when there were about 40 members.

"The rodeo needed a lot of help," he recalls, laughing. He did a wide variety of volunteer jobs in those early days, from annual cleaning of a kitchen cook shack to hauling borrowed bleachers from fairgrounds in the Willamette Valley.

Miller has also been a premier contractor in Central Oregon since 1974. With his partner, Miller began building homes at Black Butte Ranch from their Portland-based company until they both moved here with their families. "Suddenly all our work was here, he explained, "and we loved the area." He became independent in 1978 as GJ Miller Construction Company.

He built the first million-dollar home on the tax rolls in Deschutes County, still a showcase over a canyon. He has built landmarks all over Sisters Country and more than twenty Black Butte Ranch homes. In Bend, there are multiple Aubrey Butte and Broken Top homes and Hawthorne Suites to his credit.

At the busiest of times, Miller still had a zeal for Sisters Rodeo that kept him involved as a board member, construction volunteer, promoter and campaigner. He remembers a year when the board members personally signed a loan for money that made a rodeo possible.

"That board committed to $20,000 that year," he said, "and I probably shouldn't even tell that story."

However, for Miller, these kinds of memories are what has made the rodeo association a prime source of lifetime friendships based on great respect. He especially noted old-timers Frank and Charlotte Beard, retired stock contractors, and Homer and Norma Shaw, in their 90s and still volunteering.

Miller's Goshen family had four boys and three girls. The community is Amish and Mennonite.

"I'm proud of my heritage," he said. "I think it gave me the moral foundation that draws me to the kind of people I've met in rodeo.

"Goshen was also close enough to Chicago for mob types to infiltrate the area," he recalled, proudly noting that his father ended a business relationship when he learned of its mob connections.

In 1965, he traveled to Portland to visit a cousin and never returned to Indiana. He moved to Sisters with his wife, and soon their social life was centered around the rodeo.

"This was a very different way of life from anything I'd known," he said. "I liked being part of improving the rodeo to make this the best rodeo it could be."

In the years of his membership, the rodeo added permanent bleachers, a clubhouse that is a social and business center for the organization, a second kitchen, a plaza seating section and the retirement of a mortgage. Under his leadership, Sisters Rodeo has succeeded in making Sisters a nationally recognized name.

"Miller has contributed more to this association than anyone in this community," said Vice President Curt Kallberg. "It's not only because of his leadership; it's his life."

Miller relishes memories that include him getting thrown over the entry gate by a bull who left a distinct horn image on his backside, and historical events like the classic bull ride with Red Rock and Lane Frost, both legends in the sport. Among the best memories, he says without hesitation, was the belly-laugh 2010 surprise for rodeo fans when the current bullfighter/clown, JJ Harrison, was tossed inside a barrel by a bull and then shot through a narrow gate.

"Rodeo entertainment at its best," Miller chuckled.

As the rodeo grew in popularity, so did Sisters. Miller is proud of what the rodeo has done for his community, and mostly proud to have been part of an organization that now claims 200 members and has twice been awarded Rodeo of the Year in the Columbia River Circuit.

He will be accompanied in the parade by his wife, Tove.

Sisters Rodeo has five performances on June 6 and June 8-10. Call the ticket hotline at 541-549-0121 or 1-800-827-7522, or visit the ticket office, 220 W. Cascade Ave. in Sisters. For information, http://www.sistersrodeo.com.

(Bonnie Malone is a member of the Sisters Rodeo board of directors).