Jeff Bolognese – President

The President of LGRA is Jeff Bolognese, or as some of you know him as "Fuzzyjeff". Jeff has been involved with the Country Western Lifestyle and Gay Rodeo for about 14 years. After attending his first rodeo at the 1994 Atlantic Stampede in Washington D.C. Jeff knew he was hooked. Since then Jeff has had the great privilege to attend many of the rodeos across the U.S., not only as a spectator, but also a competitor and volunteer.

Jeff's involvement with LGRA began about 2 1/2 years ago when he was appointed Co-Membership Chair and became LGRA\'s first lifetime member. From the Chairman Position Jeff was appointed to the Executive Board as Vice-President and had the honor of being a Co-Rodeo Director for the 2008 Liberty Stampede.

Jeff looks forward to working with the Rodeo Association, and is asking for your support to keep our Organization alive and well.

Steve Oliver – Vice President

Steve Oliver has been a member of the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association since 2007, and he currently holds the position of Vice President. During his brief time as Sponsorship Chair, he worked to bring on sponsors and advertisers for the first Inaugural Liberty Stampede in 2008. In addition, he has been handling Public Relations and lead the Fundraising Committee.

Steve is no stranger to rodeo or the Country Western lifestyle: He is originally from rural Western New York where at a young age he worked on farms ranging from dairy and agricultural to equestrian. Additionally, Steve was an active member of the FFA and 4-H. He now resides just outside of Philadelphia in Pottstown, PA.

Shortly after college, Steve moved to Washington DC where he attended his first gay rodeo (ASGRA) in 1993. While his career and subsequent move to Philadelphia kept him from attending rodeo events for a few years, he is happy to back in the saddle and committed to LGRA.

In his professional life, Steve is the Vice President of North American Marketing for TNS, the world’s largest global Marketing Research and Information Company, based in NY, NY.

As Vice President of LGRA, Steve will continue his enthusiasm and dedication by working with LGRA to support its overall mission of promoting the Country Western way of life; to help raise money for LGRA’s Charity Partners; to bring in royalty; and to continue building a solid footing for another great rodeo in 2009 and for years to come.

Chris Maurizio – Secretary & Volunteer Coodinator

Chris was raised in a small town in New Jersey named Florence. It had a small cow farm in the middle of town and a horse farm on the outskirts. He grew up listening to Country music and dressing in a Country/Western style. He actually lived the song "I was country when country wasn't cool". The farms in Florence have been converted into housing developments and the town has grown beyond its means but he is still that same small town country boy. He started two stepping at Woodys around 1994 and went every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday nights. Not only did he find the people friendly but also learned how to do the dances. He then learned about the DC Gay Rodeo (ASGRA) and attended his first one. He had such a great time that he’s been going ever since. Recently, he became involved with Philadelphia's own Liberty Gay Rodeo Association (LGRA) and is now proud to that he is the Secretary and Volunteer Coordinator. He is excited and proud to be part of this organization and this historical event. He looks forward to being part of Philadelphia’s Gay Country Community and the LGRA for many years to come.

James Erhart – Treasurer

Jim Erhart has been an active member of the gay and lesbian country community for over 10 years. Jim has a wide range of activities under his belt from teaching line dancing to student groups at the University of Pennsylvania as well as teaching at Woody's Bar. Jim also holds the position of Co-chair person for Lassos and Lariats, a country and western dance benefit that raises funds for such organizations as The Attic Youth Center, Siloam Ministries and the AIDS Coalition of Southern New Jersey. Under Jim's leadership, Lassos and Lariats has experienced great success in raising money for the benefactors as well as increasing community involvement. He has chaired this event for four years.

Jim is a founding member of the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association (LGRA) where he has held the position of Vice President, served as the Chairperson for the Social and Entertainment Committee and currently is the Treasurer for the LGRA. Jim also served as the Assistant Rodeo Director for the 2006 Atlantic Stampede Rodeo in Washington DC.

Jim currently resides Westville, NJ and is employed with Comcast where he is the Senior Accounts Payable Supervisor.

Stephen J. Watrobski – Newsletter

I grew up in Upstate New York, about an hour south of the Adirondack Mountains and 45 miles west of Albany. While there, I was a member of The Galway Players, a community theatre organization for over 20 years. I volunteered in this organization in various backstage areas starting with prompting, then moving up the so called ladder by helping with lighting execution, set decoration, lighting and set design. Eventually, I took on the task of Stage Manager then on to Technical Director, Director and Producer of several productions. I always enjoyed the "behind the scenes" aspects versus performing on stage.
I moved to the Hagerstown, MD area in the summer of 2004 and ultimately to the Birdsboro area in April of 2007 where I now live with my partner Mark. When I settled here, Mark told me about The Liberty Gay Rodeo Association. I met several of the members and liked the new friends that I had made. We both joined LGRA in August of that year with Mark wanting me to compete in Goat Dressing at the Atlantic Stampede in DC. I declined stating that I would much rather watch and cheer him and everyone else on to victory. I did just that and took a lot of pictures. After that I enjoyed learning more about rodeo and when I was asked by LGRA to be Contestant Registration Coordinator for the Liberty Stampede, I accepted. I then read the article of Newsletter Chairperson being open and voiced my interest in that. I was very happy that the Board voted me on board and I look forward to working hard to help make the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association a fun, respected and successful organization.

John J. Stypa – Webmaster

John Stypa is an I/T professional with over 17 years of experience. He currently works for the State Of New Jersey developing web-based applications for the Motor Vehicle Commission.  John also works as a DJ and currently performs at The Woods Campground in Lehighton, PA. He has performed at the Liberty Stampede Rodeo in 2008, the Atlantic Stampede in Washington DC from 2003 - 2006, and occasionally at Woody's in Philadelphia.

John is partnered to Al and resides at the Jersey Shore.