The ending of Cheyenne Frontier Days was spent at the park for the last three days of the show. I want to take a moment to thank our Kiwanis Club for serving 18,000 folks and for all they do to make people feel welcome in our great city. It is such a well-oiled machine, and the music was fantastic too.
We had a big family group that went to the night show to enjoy some John Pardi. He was so energetic and fun to watch. I have always been a fan of his, and his show reinforced my fandom. I am always amazed by the number of songs the artist sings. I knew the words to many of his songs but never quite matched the song to the artist.
Last Friday night, we had the chance to help set a world record for the number of wings sold in a 24-hour period. Weitzel Wings, aka Double Dub’s, is a local food truck that sold 48,083 wings in 24 hours and beat their old record by 8,000 wings. They also won the 8-hour record by nearly 8,000 wings when they sold 28,049. It was fun to feel the crowd’s excitement as we waited in line for our turn. I am a huge fan of their wings, but I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to keep up the quality while turning out thousands of wings per hour. Excellent job, Trent!
On Saturday, we started the morning with the final grand parade. I have met many carriage drivers from all over the mid-west that have driven our beautiful carriages for years. They are always so nice and make the parade rides a great experience. The crowd was great, and I so enjoyed seeing the Messenger’s Hitch roll by with their beautiful Percheron horses pulling their carriage along. Man, do I love the parades!
Saturday evening was a chance to try the BBQ at Little America; steak, brisket, and salmon with all the fixings while sitting on the patio was perfect. I loved listening to Pepi sing George Straight and other classics. We took our clan to the concert to hear Cody Johnson, who was completely sold out. I found myself comparing him to a young Garth Brooks due to the way he connected with the audience. What a great show!
Sunday’s finals were one for the books! Ryder Sanford set the record score in the Saddle Bronc event with 92.5. The Barrel Racing event saw two record rides; Summer Kosel broke her record time of 17.02 and finished at 16.97, and just when I thought it was all over, Sue Smith rode a 16.89, winning the event and setting the new arena record. The competition was fierce, and it was a great way to end the Daddy of ‘Em All. A quick thanks to all the volunteers who did an amazing job presenting the rodeos and night shows to our residents and visitors.
Monday was another first for me. I have never played Pickle Ball a day in my life, but I got the opportunity to swing a paddle and cut the ribbon on the new eight-court Pickle Ball facility at Lions Park. I have received so many emails asking for more courts to be constructed for a couple of years now, and after playing a few matches, I am hooked! It was so much fun, and I see it as a great sport for people of all ages. I think Frank is 79 years old, and he’s an avid player. He and his partner kicked our butts, but I will be coming back and learning how to play very soon. Special thanks to our Community Recreation and Events crew, who worked through all the rainy days to complete the courts. There must have been 50 players present for the opening, and I promise to join them regularly. Pickle Ball is such a blast.
On Tuesday, I had coffee with Gilbert Lucas to discuss how we could help folks transitioning out of prison back into the community. The recidivism rate for people coming out of prison is way too high. I really appreciated Gilbert sharing his story of getting out of prison and giving back to our community. I want to encourage him and lower our crime rate at the same time. There will be more to come on this.
Pastor Stephen Latham, Renee Gamino, and Lillian Zungia from the Wyoming Independent Citizens Coalition came by to share information about a program they are getting ready to start. “Not in our Town” is a movement to stop hate by engaging our community. I love our community, but we do have some work to do when it comes to making everyone feel welcome, and I appreciate the opportunity to have a community discussion on the topic. We will all have a chance in the next month to get involved.
I traveled to Gentle Touch Dental South on Tuesday for the ribbon cutting of their new clinic. Dr. Steele’s new office on South Greeley Highway is beautiful and filled with impressionist artwork. With all the growth happening in south Cheyenne, it is exciting to see the new investments being made along this important corridor. I wish them great luck and success!
Judy and I woke up on Wednesday morning not feeling well. We each took a COVID test as an abundance of caution due to all the folks we met during the rodeo. Another first for both of us, we tested positive. I guess this means our dog, Sampson, will be getting more attention than he is used to. Judy has it worse so far, but we are optimistic that it will run its course, and we will be back to work next week, wearing a mask, of course.
During the Partners N’ Prosperity luncheon held by the Chamber, I called pastor JR Atkins back to the stage to finish his prayer to include good weather for Cheyenne Frontier Days. I couldn’t believe it rained EVERY DAY before the rodeo, and the rain absolutely soaked us. Pastor Atkins from Grace United Methodist Church was a good sport and gave us a great prayer for good weather, and you know we actually got it! I really appreciate his sense of humor and his connection with the good Lord. It reminds me of General Patton and his Chaplin O’Neil, who prayed for good weather in World War II.
It is hard to believe it is already August. With all the rain, it seems like summer is just getting started rather than almost finished. Let’s make sure we get the most out of the next few months of warm weather.
If you have a question or comment for me, please email media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer your questions or concerns in the following Mayor’s Minute column.
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