2015 National Day of the Cowboy Hatch, “Reel Heroes”

We’ve been working since 2005 to secure official status for the 4th Saturday in July as the National  Day of the Cowboy; a day to celebrate cowboy culture and pioneer heritage.  Currently, ten states have passed our bill permanently into law (WY,CA, NM, AZ, OK, OR, MS, KS, VA and TX). One of our main sources of funding for this ongoing effort is our commemorative Hatch poster series. We began making these traditional Americana style posters in 2005, using Hatch’s vintage woodblock art and text, but in 2006, we decided to ask artists, each from a different state, for original art which could be carved into a plate for our posters alone. Our first artist was Jennifer M. Ward of AZ. Artists who followed were Teal Blake – TX 2007, Zane Mead – NM 2008, Christina Holmes – CA 2009, Jim Harrison – FL 2010, the late Jo Mora 2011, Jim Clements – KS 2012, Don Weller – UT 2013, and Tyler Crow – OK 2014. Each of these artists has their own unique talent and style and together they have created a remarkable body of art for this organization.

Here we are, up to 2015 and we’re excited to tell you our artist this year is Alex MacAskill from Halifax, Canada. Alex is our first artist hailing from an international community. And, although he was born and raised in Halifax, he’s now a graphic artist on the staff at Hatch Show Print. He’s familiar with our whole series and has created a poster that fits perfectly in the collection. The colors this year are light blue and golden tan. The theme is “Stand Tall with your Reel Heroes.”

We hope you’ll consider helping us with the cost of getting our 2015 poster produced, and also, that you’ll want to become a collector of all the other National Day of the Cowboy Hatch posters as well. These are all limited edition posters, still hand-printed and hand-cranked on a letterpress. Hatch has been making posters this same way since 1879. No one in our organization is paid, but we do have significant ongoing operating expenses and we still have 40 states to round up on this trail drive! You can help us continue through our GoFundMe project or simply send an email to orders at nationaldayofthecowboy.com and we’ll put you on the list to reserve your poster. Orders for hand-signed posters must be paid for in advance as we only offer 50 signed by the artist. We expect to have the finished posters in-house toward the middle of June.

A big thank you to your Western Belle, Barb Richhart, and to singer/songwriter/author, Jon Chandler, for starring in our GoFundMe video, shot at the famous Buckhorn Exchange in Denver, Colorado.

34 cents and a bit of fun!

We’d love to have your help the National Day of the Cowboy with a simple little media campaign. It will only cost you 34 cents, the price of a postcard stamp, to take part. Did you know cowboys Dusty and Lefty star in “The Lives of the Cowboys” segment every Saturday night on “A Prairie Home Companion” on National Public Radio? We’d like to ask you to send them a postcard telling them there is an official National Day of the Cowboy on the 4th Saturday every July. Add something like you hope as cowboys they will be proud to know that and that they’ll plan to celebrate the day. Maybe then if they decide to do something special, we’ll get to listen in on their conversation about it! Thanks so much for taking a moment to help us build awareness!

Please address your postcard to:
Dusty & Lefty, The Lives of the Cowboys
C/O Kathy Roach
Prairie Home Productions, LLC
611 Frontenac Place
St. Paul, MN 55104

Barb “Western Belle” Richhart joins National Day of the Cowboy Board

We’re proud to announce that Barb “Western Belle” Richhart has joined the National Day of the Cowboy 501c3 Board of Directors in the capacity of 2nd Vice-chairman.

Barb Richhart & B KSJDCowgirl Richhart, who hangs her hat in Mancos, Colorado, has been a longtime supporter of the NDOC, including on-air at KSJD Dry Land Radio, as an NDOC volunteer, as an NDOC member, and with her annual National Day of the Cowboy backyard fundraising concert.

From the moment the Western Belle first learned about the National Day of the Cowboy, she began asking, “What can I do to help’? She immediately took it upon herself to encourage her friends, especially her musical friends, to become members and to help spread the word about the NDOC project through their shows. She hosts an annual NDOC radio special each July and also holds an NDOC house concert on the National Day of the Cowboy, at which she raises funds to donate to the NDOC. Barb has traveled to many events to represent the NDOC and to volunteer to help. In 2014, she was one of the esteemed recipients of our annual Cowboy Keeper Awards.

Having known her for nine years now, I can attest to the fact that Barb Richhart dedicates her life fulltime, to preserving and protecting the culture of the West she loves. She is also constantly looking for new ways to interest people in supporting the NDOC and helping us achieve our goals. These are just some of the reasons our Vice-chairman, Jerry Betley, and I feel honored to have her join our Board of Directors today as our Second Vice-chairman. Together we expect to make tremendous progress in 2015 in further establishing the 4th Saturday in July as the National Day of the Cowboy.

Ruger Vaquero NDOC Benefit Raffle

Darrell Wyatt of the Powhatan Peacemakers cowboy fast draw organization in Amelia, Virginia, has launched a Ruger Vaquero
raffle to raise funds for

One-of-a-kind Ruger Vaquero.

One-of-a-kind Ruger Vaquero.

Amelia’s inaugural National Day of the Cowboy celebration next July. The funds are targeted (no pun intended (:>) to sponsor the NDOC Executive Director to be the Grand Marshal of their NDOC event; a greatl opportunity for us to engage broader support east of the Mississippi. The Powhatan Peacemakers are associated with the Cowboy Fast Draw Association of Fallon, Nevada.

Details:

Darrell is offering raffle tickets for a one-of-a-kind Ruger Vaquero. The barrel is custom engraved with the words, “National Day of the Cowboy 2015.” Also, the letters NDOC are on the gun butt and our NDOC logo is engraved down the back of the grip.

Only 100 tickets will be sold. Tickets are $20 each. Each person who buys a ticket (or tickets) will have their name written in a square/squares on an un-numbered grid of 100 squares. Once all of the tickets are sold, numbers will be drawn to assign to each square. So, for example, the number drawn for the square in the top right corner could be 77. Once all the numbers are randomly assigned, their local minister will draw the winning number from a cowboy hat containing the numbers 1-100.

As I understand it, a Ruger Vaquero typically retails for $650, so this is your chance to win a very special model for only $20 and to help out our cause at the same time. I’ve attached a photo of the actual piece for your reference.

To purchase your ticket or tickets, contact Darrell Wyatt by email melungeon99@gmail.com or give him a call at 804-337-5176. Tickets will go quickly and Darrell has already sold some to members of his cowboy fast draw organization.

It’s an honor to be invited to share in the Peacemakers’ Virginia celebration and I would like you to know too that the Amelia Town Council has already passed their resolution in support of officially recognizing the National Day of the Cowboy in 2015. Darrell is also working with his delegate to the VA legislature, Delegate Tommy Wright, in an effort to get the NDOC passed as a permanent bill in VA in 2015. Since VA is one of our original 13 colonies, Darrell is pushing to see Virginia become one of the first 13 states to pass the cowboy bill.

Thanks again for your support. We couldn’t keep the National Day of the Cowboy going without you.

 

Good luck in the drawing!

The Sweetheart of the Rodeo joins the National Day of the Cowboy

Legendary artist, Jo Mora’s iconic cowgirl image, The Sweetheart of the Rodeo, will grace a National Day of the Cowboy 2011 Hatch poster. That’s not a typo – it is indeed for the year 2011, the one year we had to skip in our series due to a lack of funds. Mora-sweetheart05

We were recently contacted by Peter Hiller, the trustee for Mora’s art estate, and asked if we would like to use a piece of Mora’s work for a poster in our collection. The Sweetheart has been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw her many years ago so of course, she’s the one I picked. Many of you will also recall seeing her on the cover of The Byrds’ 1968 seminal country-rock album, The Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which included Gram Parsons as the newest member of The Byrds, along with Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn and Kevin Kelly. However, long before she graced the cover of The Byrds’ album, she was a focal point on another of Mora’s best known works, The Evolution of the Cowboy. 

Joseph Jacinto Mora (1878-1947) was born in Uruguay, but his family moved to New York when he was a small boy. He grew up in New York and New Jersey, including attending art school in the east, as well as working as an illustrator in the Boston area. But, as fate would have it, one day Buffalo Bill Cody came to town with his Wild West Show and Mora was forever after captivated by the lure and magic of the American west. He subsequently moved west, including spending time in Arizona living among the Hopi Indians. Living most of his later life in the Carmel and Pebble Beach area of California, he was recognized as a gifted and multi-talented artist in a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpting, illustrating, map making, wood carving, writing and cartooning.

All of our NDOC commemorative posters, with the exception of the 2005, feature the artwork of a different artist from a different state. Each piece has a unique color scheme and a theme which supports the image in the artwork. Our growing list of talented artists contributing to this ongoing project include; Jennifer Ward of Arizona 2006, Texas artist, Teal Blake 2007, Zane Mead of New Mexico 2008, Christina Holmes 2009 California, Florida’s Jim Harrison 2010, Kansas artist Jim Clements 2012, Utah’s Don Weller in 2013, and the artwork of Oklahoma’s Tyler Crow is on our 10th Annual National Day of the Cowboy poster for 2014.

In recent years, we’ve asked the artist to sign a limited number of the posters that feature their art. We then offer those for purchase at an additional price. For the Jo Mora poster, we’ll be offering 50 of the posters numbered and including the official Jo Mora “estate stamp.” And, if you check out our GoFundMe project, you’ll see that we’re also extremely proud to offer five posters which will be hand-signed by former Byrd’s band member and cowboy, singer/songwriter/performer, Chris Hillman. 

The sale of our posters helps us keep the lights on the quest for a National Day of the Cowboy moving forward. Although we are an all-volunteer organization, our minimum annual operating expenses typically hover around $10,000. We meet those expenses through supporting members, donations, and the sale of NDOC promotional products such as belt buckles, flags, and these fantastic posters.

You can reserve a 2011 Hatch poster now by donating through our GoFundMe project or by sending an email to orders@natonaldayofthecowboy.com. Orders for the hand-signed and estate stamped posters must be paid for in advance. Due to Hatch’s current 12-week turnaround time on orders, these posters will not be in stock until mid-January 2015.

 

10th Annual National Day of the Cowboy sweeps the country

It’s been a big year for the National Day of the Cowboy as evidenced by the over 50 celebrations and events posted on our calendar with the tenth annual National Day of the Cowboys just hours away. With so many individuals, organizations and communities getting involved in these events, it’s clear more and more people are truly taking ownership of this heritage holiday and making it their own. There are many new events as well as annual festivities that have already become traditional for some communities. At Dodge City Days, the Governor of Kansas will be making history when he signs the National Day of the Cowboy bill as Grand Marshal of their NDOC parade. This signing officially makes Kansas the eighth state to award permanent status to the 4th Saturday in July as a day to celebrate cowboy culture and pioneer heritage.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this grassroots effort. Because of all of you, your NDOC purchases, your donations, your volunteer work, and your memberships, we’re able to keep the lights on and keep this growing year after year. We’re hoping next year to add at least five more states to the list of those which have passed it into permanent law. Getting it passed into law, protects it for future generations, but it’s your celebrating that gives it real meaning and substance so thanks to everyone who has taken the time to plan an event and to everyone who will be taking the time to attend one. Remember though, if you can’t get to a celebration, we hope you’ll plan one of your own!

Happy 10th Annual National Day of the Cowboy!

Four recognized with Cowboy Keeper Award® in 2014

Sunrise Chill

Sunrise Chill

With its annual Cowboy Keeper Award, the National Day of the Cowboy 501(c)3 organization has been recognizing individuals, organizations, and projects that have contributed significantly to the preservation of pioneer heritage and cowboy culture, since its founding in  2005. The four exemplary honorees selected by the NDOC Board of Directors to receive a 2014 Cowboy Keeper Award are Andy Nelson, Barb Richhart, Dodge City Kansas, and Earl W. Bascom. The beautiful image contributed for this year’s award, Sunrise Chill, is the work of world renowned photographer, Charles Phillips of Mariposa, California.

Wyoming’s Andy Nelson is a farrier, poet, award winning entertainer, author, sound engineer, humanitarian, rodeo announcer, humorist, emcee, and Cow Radio show host, who can “ride, rope and work cattle with the best of ‘em.” The weekly syndicated radio show, “Clear Out West (C.O.W.) Radio,” which Andy hosts with his brother Jim, is a leading source for contemporary and vintage cowboy poetry and music and cowboy lore and practices. Through his show, Andy works to promote the talents of others, especially nurturing young poets and musicians. He is aptly described by singer Brenn Hill as “cowboy all the way.” Nelson cares deeply about cowboy culture and is an active participant, living his life the cowboy way; always exhibiting diligence, generosity, integrity, and humility. He is devoted to his wife, children, and siblings, and is actively involved in their interests and lives.

Andy was born and raised in the Idaho town of Oakley, where he and his brother were taught the way of the cowboy by their father, Jim. They followed him all over the great basin learning how to shoe horses, and although they no longer shoe for a living, “they have had the farrier way of life forever branded on their hides.” Andy’s recent award-winning book, Riding with Jim, honors his father’s life, and as a second-generation farrier, he has passed those skills on to his children. Andy’s own poetry captures many of the issues facing today’s working West, often presented in a humorous way to help others understand and appreciate ranching and cowboy life. He does his part to preserve cowboy culture by volunteering his time and talents to help record the voices of cowboy poets who also tell the stories of today’s West. He has worked with many poets, including 93-year old Cowgirl Hall of Fame honoree Georgie Sicking, preserving their poetry in recordings. Andy has co-produced the past nine volumes of The BAR-D Roundup from the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry and has been known to travel at his own expense to collect recordings from poets and help projects come to fruition. Perhaps the most exemplary thing about Andy is he is often–and always quietly–doing something to help others, from taking part in a benefit, to raising money for those in need, supporting a friend, or helping with a project, from branding to building. You will however, rarely hear about those things from Andy himself. As Margo Metegrano, Editor of CowboyPoetry.com observes, “I doubt there is a single person who knows Andy Nelson who doesn’t admire him and consider him a friend. The cowboy code he lives by is an inspiration for all.”

Since 2007, Dodge City Kansas and the Dodge City Convention & Visitors Bureau have encouraged community efforts that focus on celebrating the National Day of the Cowboy. NDOC proclamations have been requested annually from the City Commission, Ford County Commission, and the state legislature. As a direct result of their work, Kansas’ NDOC bill will be signed into law by Governor Brownback July 26th, making Kansas the 8th state in history to pass the bill awarding permanent status to the 4th Saturday in July as the National Day of the Cowboy.

Community-wide activities that recognize the National Day of the Cowboy abound, including Dodge City Days Annual 10 Day Festival which coincides with the date for the National Day of the Cowboy. The festival parade features the Drover’s western welcome wagon displaying an NDOC banner on both sides, while NDOC banners also grace the 3-mile parade route. NDOC flags are flown at the CountyGovernmentCenter, BootHillMuseum, Santa Fe Depot, VisitorInformationCenter, and City Hall, as well as at numerous other prominent community buildings during the 10-day event. A 5-day PRCA rodeo takes place during the festival, showcasing the outstanding riding and roping skills of the cowboys and cowgirls and the NDOC flag is presented and acknowledged during each grand entry, flying over the rodeo arena throughout the performances, with NDOC banners gracing the fences. A country music concert is held on NDOC weekend and the cowboy day is recognized by the performers during the concert. The flag is flown during the concert too. In fact, Dodge City boasts the largest collection and display of NDOC flags of any community in the world.

Dodge City Public Library takes part in the activities with special programming and displays, including flying the National Day of the Cowboy flag, viewed by the over 500 people who stop by each day. Their entryway showcases a display based on a western theme or the theme for Dodge City Days. A highlight of the library’s cowboy presentation is their “Read ‘em Cowboy” Circle for the children, where stories are read, songs are sung and a cowboy related craft is created by all in attendance. A display at the library describing the NDOC program is set up for the festival. On the eve of the National Day of the Cowboy, celebrations are held at the Final Friday events at the Carnegie Center for the Arts and the Second Avenue Art Guild, commemorating the recognition and followed by the Boot Hill Museum Bull Fry and Bash.

From the statue of the cowboy on Boot Hill to longhorn steer watching on Wyatt Earp Boulevard, Dodge City recognizes the importance of the cowboy and promotes its heritage. The cowboy is alive year round there, but especially during the 10 Dodge City Days and on the National Day of the Cowboy. The people of Dodge City live the National Day of the Cowboy mission year-in and year-out

For Colorado cowgirl, Barb “Western Belle” Richhart, life began in the coalfields of Kentucky as the third of eleven children. The daughter of a coalminer, she lived a farm life until age thirteen. Then, in 1964, Barb’s family packed up and moved to Gunnison on the Western Slope of Colorado, where she quickly learned about real cowboys and wholeheartedly claimed the cowgirl lifestyle for own.

Barb married a cowboy/outfitter and happily transformed herself into a full-fledged, bonafide cowgirl, including riding, animal doctoring, camp cookie, and nurturing and mothering all the young cowboys and cowgirls that came her way. Due to her partner’s ill health, retirement from the outfitter’s life came early, leaving an opening for her to volunteer, so she joined the Colorado Cattle Women and Cowbelles, where she promoted interest in the issues of raising beef, the wise use of water, and good stewardship of the land, at every opportunity. She served as a Cowbelle officer and became more deeply involved as a recognized presence at fairs, schools, libraries, stock shows, conventions and meeting one-on-one with senators and congressmen, to raise awareness for numerous ranching industry challenges. In 2003, Richhart volunteered to DJ at KSJD Dry Land Community Radio in Cortez. When asked what type of music she wanted to play, “Cowboy Western” was her immediate reply. Her weekly 2-hour Sunday show, Cow Trails, was born and the Western Belle was on the air, stepping up to preserve the music, poetry and culture of the cowboy way. Monthly house concerts, including an annual National Day of the Cowboy fundraising concert, were soon added to her repertoire as one more avenue to share her love of the people, places, and heritage of the West. Barb Richhart now dedicates her life fulltime, (including volunteering for special projects with the National Day of the Cowboy organization), to preserving and protecting the rich culture of the West she loves.

The name and fame of the late rodeo champion, rancher, Hollywood actor, inventor, western painter, school teacher, sculptor, father, cowpuncher, trail driver, printmaker, wrangler, and blacksmith, Earl W. Bascom, continues to be recognized throughout the United States and Canada, as well as other international communities, for his unparalleled number of talents and accomplishments.

Earl Bascom (1906-1995) was born in a sod-roofed cabin on the Bascom 101 Ranch in Vernal, Utah.  In 1913, his father, John, who had cowboyed in Utah and Colorado, went to Alberta, Canada, securing a job as a foreman on the Knight Ranch. In 1914, the Bascom family loaded their belongings into a covered wagon, traveled a week to the nearest railroad and rode the train to Canada. After working for the Knight Ranches in Alberta, John Bascom, with the help of his sons, began ranching on his own using the Bar-B-3 brand. Raised in the ranching world in Canada, Earl portrayed his real life’s work cowboying and rodeoing across the American and Canadian West in his art. He has been dubbed the Cowboy of Cowboy Artists due to the vast range of those experiences, and the “Father of Modern Rodeo” for his numerous rodeo equipment inventions, including rodeo’s first one-hand bareback rigging (1924), its first reverse-opening side delivery bucking chute (1919), and its first hornless bronc saddle (1922). Earl and his brother, Weldon, also produced the first rodeo in Columbia, Mississippi – history’s first outdoor night rodeo under electric lights, and are known as the “Fathers of Mississippi Rodeo.”

As a rodeo pioneer, an all-around champion, an internationally known artist and a cowboy, Earl W. Bascom has been inducted into more halls of fame than any cowboy in the world – halls that include the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame, the Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and recently, the UtahCowboy & WesternHeritageMuseum. He rodeoed from 1916 to 1940 in the rough stock events of saddle bronc riding, bareback riding and bull riding, and in timed events of steer decorating and steer wrestling. He was a rodeo announcer, a trick rider, and competed in the rodeo events of wild cow milking and wild horse racing. Bascom held memberships in the Cowboys Turtle Association, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Canadian Rodeo Cowboys Association, National Police Rodeo Association, and the National Old Timers Rodeo Association and is included in “Who’s Who in the World.” Although he dropped out of school at a young age, he attended college during the depression, financed by his rodeo earnings. His artistic gift for painting was recognized during those years and he soon moved into sculpturing.

Bascom was the first cowboy artist to be honored as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of London, since its beginning in 1754. In the summer of 2005, the week-long Earl W. Bascom Memorial Rodeo was held in Berlin, Germany, where his cowboy art was exhibited by the European Rodeo Cowboys Association in recognition of his worldwide influence upon the sport of rodeo. It’s no wonder Judy Anderson, Co-Chair of the Utah Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, “Can’t think of anyone more worthy to be honored on the National Day of the Cowboy than the “Cowboy of Cowboy Artists” Earl W. Bascom.” Known as a humble man throughout his life, he passed away at 89, having lived in the days of the old west before the end of free-range ranching. The astonishing breadth of contributions, talents, skills, commitments, and participation in the preservation of cowboy culture by these four recipients of the 2014 Cowboy Keeper Award, is both encouraging and inspiring. Knowing that people and organizations of this quality, continue to this day, to work to preserve and promote this heritage, confirms that it has not, nor will it ever die.

We at the National Day of the Cowboy organization know we are privileged to recognize these four distinguished honorees, all of whom have demonstrated a heartfelt and effective commitment to the preservation of pioneer heritage and cowboy culture, and not just in America, but around the world as well. The National Day of the Cowboy is proud to take its hat off to each of these highly deserving recipients.

Kansas makes it eight!

It’s official!Dodge City 2012 The State of Kansas has become the 8th state to pass the National Day of the Cowboy bill in perpetuity. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the folks at the Dodge City Convention & Visitors Bureau, the NDOC bill actually passed in the Kansas Legislature in April. However, the date in the bill was inadvertently changed to the ‘last’ Saturday in July, rather than the 4th Saturday in July, and it did not get corrected before passage by the legislature, so we were waiting to hear how KS Governor Brownback would handle the signing. We’ve just learned that he will be riding in the Dodge City National Day of the Cowboy parade and signing the bill into law on July 26th during Dodge City Days. Governor Brownback will be signing the NDOC bill with a proviso that the legislature correct the date to be the 4th Saturday in July, before next year. Hats off to Kansas and to the Dodge City Convention & Visitors Bureau! With the help of our members and volunteers, we at the National Day of the Cowboy organization will continue to work on achieving permanent passage in the next 42 states.

June Roundup 2014

2014 NDOC Hatch Poster Status

The historic Hatch Show Print Letterpress Shop is currently working on the draft layout for our 2014 National Day of the Cowboy poster commemorating the 10th Annual National Day of the Cowboy, coming up on July 26th, 2014. Hard to believe ten years have passed since we started this endeavor to permanently establish the National Day of the Cowboy, which at that time, I expected to take only three years!Hatch 2014 jpg cropped

This is the ninth poster in our series of NDOC Hatch Show Prints. The artwork was created by Oklahoma’s Tyler Crow, a gifted artist and lifelong cowboy. Tyler’s art is being carved into the plate for our poster, which is made from vintage hand-carved wood blocks and hand-cranked on a press. In celebration of this milestone date, the 2014 poster will be in three colors, instead of our traditional two-color poster. The theme is “Share the Past & Shape the Future.” Once the draft is finalized, we’ll be put in the print queue at Hatch, but since we’re going with three colors, the print process will take longer since each poster will have to dry completely after each of the three color applications.

As we’ve done each year since our 2009 poster, we’ll have a limited number hand-signed by the artist. If you’d like to reserve one signed by Tyler, the first ones with go to those who donate to our GoFundMe project which is helping defray the cost of the poster. Donate $45 through GoFundMe and you will receive a hand-signed poster. The $45 includes S&H. If you’d rather take your chances and simply reserve a signed poster through our website, they will be $35 plus $5.50 shipping and handling for up to two posters to the same address. You may, of course, also reserve and unsigned poster which will be $20 plus $5.50 shipping and handling for up to two posters to the same address (orders@nationaldayofthecowboy.com).

We also still have posters from some, but not all, past years available for purchase. If you’d like to see the complete series, you’ll find images of all of the posters “Shop” section of our website. Although not all years are available any longer, we are offering to any one donor of $500 through our GoFundMe project, the entire series of posters, beginning with the 2005 and up to and including 2014 (There was never a 2011.)

Legislative Activity

The Governor’s of Idaho and Indiana, have both issued National Day of the Cowboy proclamations again this year. The legislatures of Washington and Tennessee both passed NDOC resolutions. Our high hopes for permanent passage in Kentucky did not come to fruition as our bill, after passing unanimously in the House, was not assigned to the Agriculture Committee in the Senate, and the committee to which it was assigned, never let it out of committee. These are hard lessons we learn along the trail of this process and they certainly add to the length of the process. Next fall, we’ll be talking again with legislators in KY, TN, IN and TX, working to have all of our ducks in a row, at least in those states, before the legislatures convene in 2015. As always, we need your help. If you live in a state where we’ve not yet achieved permanent passage, it always makes a difference if we have a constituent or a western/horse/agricultural related organization working with us in those states. Email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com if you’d like to volunteer to help achieve passage in your state.

On the Road

National Day of the Cowboy will once again have a table at Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction in Denver, the weekend of June 27-29. We bring brochures, posters, prints, membership applications and pins, and miscellaneous items for sale that have been donated to us to help with fundraising. The National Day of the Cowboy flag which flew to the International Space Station aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle will be there on display. Hopefully we’ll have the 2014 NDOC Hatch Poster with us too. Please stop by and say “hello” and learn more about the work we’re doing for preservation. We always love to meet new folks!

Read ‘Em Cowboy©

We’re currently working on building our Read Em Cowboy program to expand it and establish more Read Em Cowboy Circles©. We’ve decided we need an official Foreman dedicated to growing this project and to helping it establish strong roots. Read ‘Em Cowboy© is a formal literacy project of the National Day of the Cowboy 501c3 organization, established with author J.R. Sanders, to encourage young people to read and write western literature and cowboy poetry. This project is a natural extension and expression of the NDOC mission. If you’d be interested in the Foreman’s position, or in that of a Circle Wrangler, or, you just want more information about it, please email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com Subject: Read ‘Em Cowboy.

Events

Just a reminder that we do have an events calendar and our calendar Wrangler, Cindy Longoria of Washington, is waiting to receive your event information and post it on our calendar. This is not just for NDOC events, but if you are doing anything special for the NDOC, we’d like to post that information for you. Getting legislation established is important, but the most important aspect of this effort is to in fact, CELEBRATE! If you’ll go to the calendar, you’ll see numerous events, both large and small, already published there. To get your events posted, send details to events@nationaldayofthecowboy.com

Cowboy Keeper Awards

The 2014 Cowboy Keeper Award recipients will be announced on Saturday, July 5th.

Supporting this Crusade2014 Membership Pin

Options for supporting this effort continue to grow. We are now a charity recognized by Fry’s Food Stores Community sharing program. If you live in Arizona and shop at any Arizona Fry’s store, you can very easily link your Fry’s card to our nonprofit so that every time you buy groceries, Fry’s makes a donation to the NDOC. That’s right, Fry’s makes the donation, not you! If you buy or sell on EBay, you can also select the National Day of the Cowboy to receive a portion of your sales or to make a donation when you check out after a purchase. Your donation can be as little as $1. Just select the National Day of the Cowboy from their dropdown list of approved charities. Another option is our GoFundMe project which we set up to help us pay for the creation of the 2014 Hatch poster. We have several different reward levels set up including a retired membership pin going to anyone who donates $10. We encourage everyone to become a supporting member of the NDOC and receive a membership pin and card, plus a 10% to many of our products and to a selection of retailers. The membership pin changes every year and the 2014 membership pin features chaps. Volunteers are always needed and appreciated as well. We couldn’t have come this far if it weren’t for the volunteers. This is a 100% grassroots effort and we must have volunteers and members to keep it going and see it through.

Hat’s off to the cowboy and cowgirl. Don’t forget to celebrate and wear your hats and boots on July 26th 2014!

NDOC partners with Arizona Fry’s Food Stores

Arizona Residents – Fry’s Customers

Great news for the National Day of the Cowboy organization! We were recently accepted into Fry’s Food Stores Community Giving Program in Arizona. This means that if you live in Arizona and shop at any Arizona Fry’s Grocery Stores, you can help us stay in business with no out-of-pocket expense whatsoever on your part. All you need is few minutes, a Fry’s card and an email address! It takes five minutes or less to go to the Fry’s website and connect your Fry’s shopping card (aka V.I.P. Card) to the National Day of the Cowboy as your preferred charitable organization. Once you do that, Fry’s will donate to us every time you buy groceries in an Arizona Fry’s Store using your Fry’s shopping card. This could be a tremendous help in to us in meeting our monthly and annual operating expenses.