The Oakdale Cowboy Museum will be celebrating our 10th Annual Dinner and Auction Fundraiser, which will be held at Rocha’s Valley Enterprise’s on Saturday, September 15, 2007. Cost for this occasion is $65.00 for members and $75.00 for non-members.
Each year the Cowboy Museum pays tribute to an individual who has contributed to our local western legacy. This year, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary of our dinner and auction fundraiser, we will be honoring the original thirteen members of the board who had the vision and determination to form a facility that commemorates our western history. The honorees are: Bart Barringer, Gerry Beckerdite, Ace Berry, Bob Brunker Sr., Jerold Camarillo, Dan Donnelly, Joe Gambini, Richard Gilton, Vicki Gookin, Sonja Herndon, former Mayor, Pat Kuhn, Ron Martin and Kent Stacy.
According to Ace Berry, one of the evening’s honorees, the idea to have a dinner and auction fundraiser was developed over a conversation he was having with good friend and movie actor Wilford Brimley. Berry told him the group was looking for a way to raise funds to keep the Museum open. Berry remembers Brimley said, “to organize a nice dinner, procure donations items from the community and hold an auction. If its a nice event and your guests have fun, they will keep returning to support the organization and it will be a sell out.” The first fundraiser dinner and auction was held in October of 1998 and there were 150 people in attendance. In fact, the directors actually catered the dinner themselves! Fast forward ten years and the attendance list has grown to 620 people. “It’s been quite a ride, says, Christie Camarillo, Executive Director. Each year we continue to attract new people who want to become involved with the Museum and continue our mission of preserving our western heritage. Mr. Brimley gave us great advice and was with us to kick off our first dinner and auction. He donated one of his saddles for the live auction and it was purchased by Eugene Gilton, who donated it back to the Museum. We thought in only fitting that he is here to help us celebrate our 10th Anniversary and we are happy that he has accepted our invitation,” said Camarillo.
Those attending will enjoy a cowboy sized meal prepared by Medlen’s House of Beef and an open bar provided by the H-B Saloon. In addition to the auction and honoree celebration there will be a raffle where the winner will have a 1 in 500 chance to win two (2) Gold Buckle tickets to the 2007 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, NV. Also included are hotel accommodations and a $500 merchandise certificate. The cost for each ticket is $40. Raffle Tickets can be purchased from various youth organizations such as, District 5, High School Rodeo, or the Oakdale High School Interact Club. Those organizations that help with the sale of tickets will earn half of what they sell so it’s a win win win raffle. Tickets are on sale now with the winning ticket being drawn on Friday, November 9. For more information on the event or raffle ticket purchase call the Cowboy Museum at (209) 847-5163.
