Colorado Springs, CO - The PRCA recently held its annual elections to determine nearly a dozen spots on the various PRCA Executive Councils, and the results have been finalized.
PRCA Chairman of the Board Keith Martin was re-elected to the Rodeo Committee Executive Council as the representative for rodeos with added money of $25,000 or more. Also re-elected to that Executive Council was PRCA Board member Troy Weekley of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and he will continue to represent rodeos with added money of $5,000 or less.
Each Executive Council position is a two-year term, and those terms began on April 1, 2008. There will be several other positions on the PRCA Executive Councils open for vote at the end of 2008.
For the Contract Personnel Executive Council, PRCA Board member Mark Swingler of Austin, Texas, was re-elected to represent the PRCA’s bullfighters, clowns and barrelmen, while Benje Bendele of Natalia, Texas, was re-elected as the announcers’ representative. The other Executive Council member re-elected to his post was Spud Duvall of Checotah, Okla., who will continue to represent steer wrestlers on the Contestant Executive Council.
In addition to the five men re-elected to their positions, five new names were added to the PRCA Executive Council list. Skip Beeler of Mayer, Ariz., and John Growney of Red Bluff, Calif., were elected to the two open positions on the Stock Contractor Executive Council, replacing PRCA Board member Steve Gilbert and Sammy Andrews in that capacity.
Eleven-time World Champion and current committeeman Dean Oliver was elected to the Rodeo Committee Executive Council as the at-large representative, succeeding fellow ProRodeo Hall of Famer Cotton Rosser in that post. Two spots on the Contestant Executive Council also changed hands, with Red Lemmel of Faith, S.D., taking over from PRCA Vice Chairman of the Board Charles Soileau as the saddle bronc riding representative and J.P. Wickett of Sallisaw, Okla., replacing PRCA Board member Buster Record Jr. as the steer roping representative.
Gilbert, Soileau and Record all retain their spots on the PRCA Board of Directors despite losing their seats on the PRCA Executive Council.
Oliver, a member of the Snake River Stampede rodeo committee in Nampa, Idaho, was excited by his election to the PRCA Executive Council.
“It feels pretty good,” said Oliver, a PRCA Board member in the 1970s. “When I was at the (Wrangler National) Finals last fall, some people asked me if I would do it. There wouldn’t be anywhere to go if you didn’t have committees, and I just hope I can help in some way. Rodeo’s helped me a lot, and I’d like to help out if I could.”
The PRCA’s Executive Council members perform a variety of functions crucial to the association. They represent their category of membership at the highest level, elect members of the PRCA Board of Directors for their categories, help facilitate communication with the Board and work with staff at PRCA Headquarters. In addition, the Contestant Executive Council plays a direct role in setting entry fees for rodeos with total purses above $10,000 and helps set policies on contestant compensation and qualifications.
The contestant representatives and general membership representatives also serve on the PRCA’s Competition Committee, which holds meetings to act on the rules and bylaws proposals and then submits its suggestions to the PRCA Board. Most times, members who are selected to serve on the PRCA Board of Directors come from the PRCA’s various Executive Councils.
The nomination process for these elections began in November 2007, and voting began Feb. 25. The results were audited and made official by the PRCA’s auditing firm, Stockman, Kast, Ryan and Co., LLP.
Election results
Contestant Executive Council
Steer wrestling representative – Spud Duvall (re-elected without opposition)
Saddle bronc riding representative – Red Lemmel (replaces Charles Soileau)
Steer roping representative – J.P. Wickett (replaces Buster Record Jr.)
Rodeo Committee Executive Council
Representative for committees adding $25,000 or more – Keith Martin (re-elected without opposition)
Representative for committees adding $5,000 or less – Troy Weekley (re-elected without opposition)
At-large representative – Dean Oliver (replaces Cotton Rosser)
Stock Contractor Executive Council
Two positions – Skip Beeler and John Growney (replace Steve Gilbert and Sammy Andrews)
Contract Personnel Executive Council
Announcers representative – Benje Bendele (re-elected without opposition)
Clown/Bullfighters representative – Mark Swingler (re-elected without opposition).
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