It is an early morning on the second Friday of Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD), and it is the only time I have found to write this week’s column. This week has been exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. It makes me so proud to be mayor of our city. The week has been all about CFD for me and Judy, and she has been a real trooper through the whole thing.
Our CFD week started with the annual Partners N’ Prosperity event hosted by our Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the business community and CFD. Frontier Days started as a project of the Chamber and only became its own entity in recent years. The story was told that the Chamber’s board members mortgaged their homes to find the $500 needed to keep the event alive in its third year. Senators Barrasso and Lummis, Congresswoman Hageman, Governor Gordon, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Treasurer, and Assessor were all in attendance. Likewise, our local city and county elected officials wore their best Western gear. There was a lot of speechifying, and when it became my turn, I called the pastor back to the stage to finish his prayer. We have had so much rain lately that I thought it could’ve ruined our 10 days of outdoor fun. So, I asked him to pray for nice weather for our visitors. He was awesome and a great sport about it, and thankfully, our prayers were answered, and we got five straight days of perfect weather.
I was invited along with Dale Steenbergen from our Chamber to a meeting with the Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall. The Secretary was concerned with the reports of racism that had occurred in some of our schools that affected black children of Air Force service members. There is no way to justify racism in any segment of our community, and it’s heartbreaking that service members assigned to the FE Warren Air Force base have to worry about how their children will be treated at our local schools. This isn’t something I wanted to do, but it is important to continue talking about this issue and for all of us to stand up to racism and stamp it out in our schools and community. I shared the many things our school district has implemented and the work our state legislature and city council have done. I assured the Secretary that racism is not representative of the good people of Cheyenne.
We have been blessed with a namesake submarine since she was commissioned in 1996. We have a tradition where each year, part of the crew comes to celebrate CFD with us. This year we had Captain Kyle Calton, Chief of the Boat Esteban Vargas, Sailor of the Year Jaide Ballard, and Junior Office of the Year Seth McNair join us for a few days. They stopped by our office to update us on the boat’s status and the crew’s health. The boat is in dry dock getting refueled and refitted so she can rejoin the fight for another 20-plus years. The crew is doing great, although being in port is not the most fun kind of duty for a group of sailors. They wanted me to share their sincere thanks for all the outstanding hospitality they were shown during their visit. Special thanks to Tom and Merrie Elsberry, who chair the USS Cheyenne committee, and all their team for making the crew visit a smashing success.
Last Friday night ended with a reception at the Governor’s residence for Secretary Kendall and Lt. General Jon Jensen, Director of the Army National Guard. The Governor and Mrs. Gordon are amazing in how they open their home to support so many groups like this one.
Judy and I were dressed and ready for the first parade early Saturday morning. Holly, in my office, has a beautiful little girl named Stella, who turned 8 on the day of the parade. She and her cousin Arayah joined us in the carriage. I am no expert, but I think this might have been the largest crowd ever for a parade. Crowds were stacked many rows deep, especially in the shady areas. The parade committee is amazing in the way they get everything organized and off at exactly 9 a.m. I loved seeing the little kids’ excitement as we rode by. Happy Birthday, Stella!
We are blessed to be part of the grand entry for the rodeo each day. It is just a carriage drive along the stands, but a great time to thank the thousands of rodeo fans who come from all over the world to visit our city and take in the Daddy of ‘Em All. I will say the carriage drivers we met are mostly from states long distances from CFD. They come year after year to pull our amazing carriages and wagons, bringing their team of horses or mules to make the pull. We have come to know many of them, and they are genuinely wonderful volunteers.
Our first rodeo was terrific! What a crowd! The place was completely full. After the grand entry, I like to walk through the sponsor boxes and thank them for their investments in our rodeo. I share with them that we have an amazing rodeo with thousands of volunteers who love putting it on. The truth is that without sponsorships, our volunteers would not have a rodeo to volunteer for. Standing on the east side and taking in the whole spectacle makes me so proud of our city!
The base commander, Colonel Galbert, invited us to a Commander’s Reception at the base. It reminds me that the military has been an amazing partner in CFD since the very first show. They volunteer and are a huge part of our success. I am excited that there are a bunch of new folks on the base who get to experience CFD for the first time.
Everyone knows I am a huge country music fan, and music is a large part of my CFD experience. Old Dominion has always been one of the bands I turn up when their songs come on the radio. I love the harmonies and the lyrics to their music. I am still smiling as I knew and sang every song. What a beautiful summer night it was.
By Sunday, Judy and I were in the rhythm of the show. First, the grand entry, then the rodeo, and meeting with sponsors and visitors. For someone like me who loves meeting new people, Frontier Days are perfect for me. That evening the Elsberries held a reception at their home for the USS Cheyenne. It is where the USS Cheyenne committee gives the Sailor of the Year and Junior Sailor of the Year their award from the namesake city. The award is a beautiful western belt buckle. Boy, do I love spending time with the crew members.
This past Monday was a bit crazy as we had a city council meeting on top of the CFD excitement. Earlier that morning, I spent time talking on the radio and later meeting with our city’s staff to get the agenda ready before the show. One nice thing this year is the city council agreed to hold the meeting at noon. It was a short agenda but filled with some important ordinances. When the meeting was finished, we were off to the rodeo. Haha, it sounds like a line from a song. Monday is all about our military, and the grand entry is a long line of historic military vehicles and military members. It is beautiful, and I especially love the huge American Flag held by military veterans and active-duty folks that covered a lot of the arena. Staff Sgt. Sharon Zayzay from FE Warren sang the National Anthem, and she killed it. What a beautiful voice she is blessed with.
Tuesday was back to the routine: parade, grand entry, and rodeo. We love every minute of it. Also, that night was Professional Bull Riding (PBR). It seems to me the fairest fight between animal and cowboy in rodeo. This night the bulls won, and by a large margin as a matter of fact. Out of 42 rides maybe seven or eight made it to 8 seconds. However, at the end of the day, the heroes are the bullfighters who jump in and protect the cowboys. I think fun was had by all but the bull riders themselves.
Cheyenne Day was jam-packed with fun and a first for me. I started the morning at the pancake breakfast, and what an honor it was for me to get into “Big Red” and flip pancakes for an hour. I enjoyed watching the tourists taking pictures of pancakes flying through the air and the boy scouts doing their best to catch them. The Kiwanis Club is a well-oiled machine in feeding the thousands of people coming through the line. I get a chuckle at the tourists who think we mix the batter in a cement mixer.
I spent a bunch of time with the media on Wednesday. The Cowboy Channel interviewed me with the governor, a Fox affiliate, and our own Channel 5. We also got a chance to speak to the rodeo crowd and welcome them to the Daddy.
The first came during the Five Finger Death Punch concert. After the band played their 5th song with the crowd so fired up, I walked on stage to give the lead singer the key to the city. As you might expect, the crowd was more than a little disappointed to see me stop the show until they heard why. It was Cheyenne Day, and we had never had a Cheyenne resident headline a CFD concert until that day. Ivan Moody, the lead singer, moved to Cheyenne a few years ago and became the first. I wanted to call out the work Ivan is doing in the mental health and substance abuse area. He is very open about his struggles with sobriety and becoming sober almost six years ago. He is using his platform to share his journey and encourage those who need to turn a new leaf in life—just like our yellow feather campaign of the “Pickup Man” sponsored by CFD. Cowboys and rock stars have a hard time asking for help, and Ivan and CFD are encouraging us to find a Pickup Man and ask for help when needed. It was a bit intimidating to stand in front of thousands of heavy metal fans, but they were amazing in their support of Ivan and what he is currently doing. Another first for me! By the way, the concert was amazing.
Thursday was “Tough Enough to Wear Pink Day” at CFD. The day is all about Breast Cancer awareness. They held a luncheon, and I was asked to speak to a group of survivors, families of those who have lost loved ones, and those who are still fighting this dang disease. My message was that pink is a visualization of our need to remind and remember. Remind each other to do the work to catch the cancer early so it is curable, and remember those whom we have lost. In my immediate family, this disease has had a devastating impact. My mom and sister Kathleen are survivors, but last February 6, I lost my little sister Colleen. She fought it for five years, but her cancer was the Michael Jordan of cancers; it would not be denied. As I wrapped up my speech, I shared how I hope within my lifetime that CFD has to pick another color and disease to campaign for during Thursday’s rodeo. It would mean we have finally found the cure for breast cancer, and the fight against it has been won!
The week for this edition of the “Mayor’s Minute” ended with the Tim McGraw concert. I have been to at least four of his shows now, and he never ever disappoints!
I want to thank all of you for the hospitality you have shown our Cheyenne visitors. I keep getting stopped, and folks want to share with me how impressed they are with how clean our city looks and how nice our residents are. I am proud of you, Cheyenne!
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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