Wild West WinterFest
May 4, 2006 Minutes as Approved at the June 15, 2006 Meeting
ATTENDANCE: Sue Shockley, Debbie Holwegner, Al Lien, Connie Garrett, Travis Burian and Sonja Berg.
1. CALL TO ORDER: Travis called the meeting to order at 7:20 a.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Sue moved to approve the April 20, 2006 minutes. Sonja seconded. Motion carried.
NOTE: It was noted that we were continuing with last month’s agenda; beginning our committee discussion with item #11.
11. COWBOY GATHERING: Carter did a great job organizing this. Sue stated we should continue with this and have some performances in Cowboy Camp and the Sales Pavilion. This event will definitely grow.
12. COWBOY CAMP: This is a good outside venue however there didn’t seem to have much going on. Need to have a fire going, music, story telling, camp cooking, and packing demos. This needs improvement but we need to continue with this. Check with Gary to make sure he is going to do next year. It was suggested moving the Elk Bugling Contest to the indoor arena and have it in conjunction with the Packer’s Scramble.
13. HORSE PLAY DAY: Sonja stated there were only 14 participants. She felt there were not enough games to come in for. The cold weather probably played a part in the number of participants. The time for this event is limited due to other events going on in the indoor arena. We’ll have to work with what we have time for.
14. OFFICIAL BEVERAGE CONTEST: Sue questioned what we really got out of having this contest. It seems the bars are not promoting WinterFest like we thought they would. We did make about $500 on this contest, however it is a huge amount of work. The consensus was to scratch this event.
15. INDOOR/OUTDOOR EXHIBITORS: Connie commented that the outdoor exhibitors were great. This helped to draw people to and through the midway. Sue said next year, NO EXHIBITORS would be allowed to leave early.
16. FOOD VENDORS: Sue stated we needed to utilize #4 better than we did. Connie liked the food vendor outside by her and would like to have him there next year. Travis suggested having espresso coffee available. Miller’s pork did an excellent job. Skip’s hamburgers were great.
17. KIDS ACTIVITIES: We had good activities for the kids. It was suggested to offer this more than one time a day. Need to see if we could get a daycare or someone to take this over.
18. ALL STAR EXPO: This is a good event and people really enjoy it. We should continue with this if Nancy will do it again next year. Connie commented that she sent out emails looking for suggestions but never heard anything back. The trials had lots of spectators.
19. CHILI COOK-OFF: This is another good event to keep. Connie suggested having a doggie cleanup station with signage asking dog owners to clean up after their dog. Sue suggested moving to the People Barn.
20. CHILDREN’S ART SHOW: Mary Ellen Fitzgerald, Superintendent of Schools is planning on doing this show next year. They did a fantastic job. We will keep the People’s Choice Award.
21. QUILT SHOW: This is a very popular show and we will continue to do this. The new stands we used looked great. Connie suggested having better signage for the different age groups. We will keep the People’s Choice Award.
22. PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW: This is another popular show that’s enjoyed by the public. Need to figure out the best way to display them; separate youth from adult. It would be nice to have the ballots counted and ribbons on by Sunday morning. We will keep the People’s Choice Award.
23. HORSE SALE: Sue stated the Headwaters Livestock did an awesome job on the horse sale. The sale catalog was great. Debbie will check with Peggy Lucas to see if they will do the sale again.
24. BATTLE OF THE BREEDS: This was fun and we will continue with this event.
25. STALLION PARADE: People wanted a stallion auction. It would be nice if the stallion auction would be part of the sale. We would provide the stallions. Debbie will check with Peggy to include a stallion auction with their sale next year.
26. KNIGHTS OF THE GALLATIN: They were very good. We would like to have them back if they are available.
27. RABBIT/POULTRY SHOWS: This is a great event. Connie suggested getting plexi-glass cages so you can see the rabbits in the race.
28. TACK SWAP: This needs to be available all day long instead of a few hours here and there. Travis suggested moving the tack swap to an exhibit building.
29. WORKING HORSE & DRIVER CONTEST: This event is very well attended by spectators. The drivers would like more time. The secretary didn’t score correctly and incorrect results went to the paper for publishing.
30. KID’S FOOT & WHEEL CHAIR RODEO: Travis commented that the kids loved it. Sue stated the MSU Rodeo Club did an excellent job. Travis will try to get a commitment from the rodeo club to do this again next year.
31. PACKER’S SCRAMBLE: Good event however it was way too short. It was suggested having an amateur and professional class. Possibly, have the Elk Bugling Contest between the two classes.
32. BAHA HOCKEY TOURNAMENT: Sue has not spoken with Rob, but she is assuming they want to do it again next year.
33. OTHER BUSINESS:
· Horsin’ Around Day: It was decided not to keep Monday. We will keep the events and just try to work them into the schedule Friday through Sunday.
· Volunteer Coordinator/Photographer: Connie commented that Linda did a great job taking photos of events. It was suggested to have more than one person doing this so we wouldn’t miss any of the events. Connie suggested hiring a person to find and coordinate volunteers to help with our events. Sue said that is a great idea but we don’t have the money to hire someone to do this. Therefore, for now, this will have to be one of our staff members or a volunteer that wants to take this on. Sue said Debbie Elhert could possibly spend some time on this.
· Parade: Sue said this is a great thought, but a huge undertaking. Maybe someday, we’ll be able to have one, but for now, we won’t.
· Entertainment for Next Year: Tabled till next meeting.
· The WinterFest committee made the decision not to have any more concerts in the indoor arena.
· The WinterFest meeting for May 18 was cancelled.
· Sue mentioned the Association of Irrigators check hadn’t been deposited because she can’t find it. Sue will continue to look for it and if she doesn’t find it, they can issue a new check.
· Al commented that we need a person in the farm barn at all times to give informative talks. Skip is the superintendent of the farm barn.
34. NEXT MEETING DATE: Our next meeting is June 15 at 7 a.m. at the Ag Center.
35. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 a.m.
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