Volume II -- Issue 6

From The Editor

Hello again everyone. I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. I am winding up Rodeo business in preparation for a long overdue vacation. I'm headed to Alaska for 10 days starting July 10th. For all of those who have renewals coming up, cards thru August will be ready to send out. I will be turning them over to Jen in my absence to send out as the renewals come in. I would like to thank you all for your continued support.

Hugs and kisses,
I'm off to camp on the Susitna and fish for some Copper River Red with an old friend.
~Jade

Volunteers For Atlantic Stampede 2007 Needed

ASGRA needs volunteers for all areas of Atlantic Stampede 2007.

The Rodeo Dates are September 7 – 9, 2007 If you would like to volunteer to help please click on the "Sign Me Up!" Link below and fill out the form.

Sign Me Up

It will go directly to Beth Brockelman Volunteer Coordinator for ASGRA. Any questions please feel free to contact

Beth at Volunteers06@asgra.org or Ladyofsongs@aol.com

Thank you so much to all volunteers in the past and for the future.

Letter From The President

In a couple of days our Trustee, Ernie, will be at the IGRA Board of Directors meeting in Denver with our application to have our rodeo sanctioned by IGRA. We have all of the required documents including rodeo grounds. The owner of our venue will be present at our next Board of Directors meeting on July 11th at the Loew's Hotel to finalize the signing of our contract. The contract has been approved by all parties.
It was a long process finding the right venue to host the inaugural Liberty Stampede Rodeo. We searched the entire region before we found an acceptable site that was within reasonable distance of the Loew's Hotel.
We are proud to announce that our rodeo will be held in Pittsgrove NJ at Bit by Bit Stables. The owners, Jen and Brent, are very excited to have us there. They even want to compete in Goat Dressing. The web site to the venue is www.bbbstables.com. Feel free to email them and thank them for their support.
We could have held the rodeo in the city but the costs would have been astronomical. It would have cost over 100g to produce it here. For less then half of that we will be at a facility that is gay friendly and one that is welcoming us with open arms. The farm is about a 35 minute drive from the Loews hotel and very easily accessible from every bridge. We were even able to get 2 play days a year built into the contract. The first one will be August 18th, 3 weeks before the Atlantic Stampede in Washington DC, the other play day will be 2 or 3 weeks before the Liberty Stampede in May. The farm already has the livestock on premise that we can use.
We are also in the process of selecting our stock contractor. We are looking at Carl Leech from Classic Rodeo Productions. He has supported the gay rodeo circuit for many years and is located within our territory in Spring Grove PA.
We are negotiating numbers with his company but his price is fair and is similar to the contracts he has written with ASGRA.
Remember to read up on our upcoming events. We understand most people are away during the summer but LGRA still continues to give our members something to do if you're in the region.
We are also still running our DC Rodeo Raffle. For a $5.00 raffle ticket you are entered to win a weekend at the DC Rodeo. This includes Friday and Saturday nights at their host hotel the Hyatt Regency along with 2 weekend pass's to all rodeo events. The winner will be drawn at our August Board meeting.
Once again thank you for being part of our "Stampede into History".

New Public Relations Board Member - Justin John Costello

Born in a small coal mining town in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, Just spent a majority of his childhood in the outdoors, though has only truly experienced the Rodeo circuit and family within the last two years. In 1997 Just left his hometown of Kingston , Pa and moved to New York City , where he attended Fordham University , graduating in 2001 with BA’s in English, Writing and Directing, and a minor in Medieval History. He enters the Rodeo family via the Leather Community, which he has been involved in since 1998. He is so honored and proud to be involved with the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association.

From Secretary/Volunteer Coordinator - Chris Maurizio

We are now well into the summer of 2007. What this means is that we are getting closer and closer to Liberty Stampede 2008 (May 9-11). We are going to need the help of our members and supporters to do a variety of tasks. I’ll be meeting sometime soon with our webmaster John to put an official volunteer form on our website (http://www.LibertyStampede.com). The volunteer coordinator for ASGRA (Beth Brockelman) has graciously given me a sample of their forms they use. Beth has also volunteered to take me under her wing in September at their rodeo to show me the ropes so I’m well prepared for our own rodeo next May. We have a number of things happening in the next couple of months that will be announced soon, however, I wanted to mention that I’m trying to get a group to go camping at “The Woods Campground” in Lehighton PA. The weekend of September 14th – 16th is their “Country Western” weekend. I’ve already reserved my cabin and was hoping to get a considerable group of LGRA members and our Two Stepping community to go as well. If you are interested and wish to make reservations their website is http://www.thewoodscampground.com. Until next month, “Rodeo Up” and have a fun and safe summer!

Trail Ride - Jeff Bolognese

The next trail ride will be Sunday, August 5, 2007 at 11:00AM. We will be riding once again at Sheeder Mill Farm, 12 Sheeder Mill Rd, Spring City, PA 19475. For more information about their farm, visit their web site at http://www.smfhorses.com/. Sheeder Mill Farm is roughly one hour away from Central Philadelphia. If our members RSVP, we can make arrangements to set up car pooling to help members who want to ride out to the grounds.Prices will vary depending on the amount of people that will be attending. Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 29, 2007.

* Less than 10 people attending will cost $40.00 per person.
* 10 or more will cost $35.00 per person.

A 20% gratuity will be added for each rider. This is outside the control of LGRA.

This ride will be held rain or shine. Sheeder Mill Farm requires payments for all reservations not canceled prior to 8AM on the day of the ride. If the ride is canceled to severe weather, we will notify you no later than 9AM the day of the ride.

This ride is open to all; you need not be a member of LGRA to attend. There is no age restriction, but those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. If you have any special needs, please contact Jeff Bolognese. The trail ride will last 90 minutes.

To RSVP now, you can send an email to Jeff Bolognese.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 29, 2007 Harriburg Pride - Harrisburg, PA

LGRA will be at Harrisburg Pride this year. Please stop by our booth and say hello and talk to our representatives about joining our Gay Rodeo Association!

Member Appreciation Pool Party August 4th, 2007 from 11- 8pm

Our handsome VP, Jeff Bolognese has generously offered up his home and pool for a members appreciation party. He asked that everyone please be aware that he is located 45 minutes North West of Philadelphia and to keep the guest list to members plus one guest.

Beer, soft drinks, water, hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided.

Please RSVP to Jade by July 29th. (newsletter@libertygra.org) Directions will be provided to those who RSVP.

WHITE WATER RAFTING IN THE LEIGH VALLEY ON AUGUST 11th

LGRA is sponsoring a rafting trip to Pocono Whitewater Adventures on Saturday, August 11, 2007

The water rafting starts at 10 am. You can either meet us there or join in a car pool for those who wish. The car pools will need to leave no later than 7:30 am to ensure we are at the site by 10 am.

We are planning this as an all day event and it will include a BBQ lunch.
The cost will for this fun and exciting trip is only $39 if we have a group of 15 or more. If we can get 30 or more we are having a raffle of those paying who can receive a free trip either that day or for another time.

Please register on line with us using PayPAl. We must have your registration by July 26th. Sorry for the short notice but we thought this was too much fun to pass up and it was the only weekend we could plan.

Let all your friends know, bring them along. This is a family friendly event for LGRA. Also just so everyone knows, Pocono Whitewater Adventures is LGBT friendly, we met them at Philly Pride. What neat people. Hope to see everyone there.

Sept. 7 - 9, 2007 ASGRA's Atlantic Stampede Rodeo

The Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association presents Stampede 2007 in Washington DC and Gaithersburg, MD.

Sept. 17, 2007 Trenton Pride - Trenton, NJ

LGRA will be at Trenton Pride this year. Please stop by our booth and say hello and talk to our representatives about joining our Gay Rodeo Association!

Trail Ride Into History - LGRA Members Only September 29th, 2007

Imagine being able to literally Ride into History. Join LGRA as we do just that. We have 19 spaces reserved for a special trail ride through the Battlefields of Gettysburg through the Artillery Ridge Camping Resort and Riding Stable.

LGRA wants to wish the following a special birthday wish:

Just an FYI... we do have two fourth of July Birthdays and one July 5th. I'm guessing that last one wanted one more taste of potato salad and ribs before he came into the world... LOL

Tony Salerno
Jeff Raiczyk
Cis Burns
Terri Evanson
Eric Ziegler
William D.
Judith Belutty
Roy Stoutamyer
Mark Whiting
Cindy Brendle
Jeff Bolognese

Join the LGRA Yahoo Group

It has come to my attention that this "yahoo box" may not be functioning properly. If anyone else has a problem please let me know. In the meantime if you are having problems please just cut and paste the following to join the group.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/LibertyGRA/