Auction rustles up funds for rodeo club
The USU Rodeo Club’s cowboy auction Thursday night at club NVO attracted more than 600 people, and helped raise some much needed funds for the club.
At midnight, a “Western Adventures with People” auction took place to raise money for the rodeo team. Rodeo members Jeff Heady, Stephanie Nelson, Stephanie Crowther, and Colton Thacker were auctioned for the winners’ choice of a movie date, house cleaning, or horseback riding. The bidding started at $5 and the total sales reached about $250, says CJ Moedl, a rodeo member. Overall, she said she considered the auction a success.
In the Karaoke contest, many contestants flaunted their musical talent to a variety of country and pop tunes, imitating musicians ranging from Garth Brooks to Mariah Carey until midnight.
In the country-dance room, a contest for the couple with the best dance moves brought almost everyone out onto the dance floor. Competition ran high as endless variations of flips and twirls were executed by many, making the dance floor tight for space. The hip-hop room had bump and grind left to right, but no Cowboy Night activities.
The dance competition was followed by a line of hopefuls on stage, ready to show off their belt buckles for the “Biggest Belt Buckle” contest. Winners of the different contests through out the evening received prizes including such items as baseball caps, mouse pads, and coffee mugs.
The rodeo team members Michelle Whiting and Stephanie Nelson planned the event three weeks in advance to raise money for the USU Rodeo Team. Besides letting the rodeo team use the club, Jenson offered to pay for the flyers and give them part of the profits for the night. Specifically, he gave the club half of what he makes above average. Whiting said “He has been really good to offer,” and the rodeo team was very thankful for Jenson’s generosity.
Derick Page is the president of the USU Rodeo Club which has 18 members. The team has two rodeo seasons. The first begins in September, while the second will start up soon in February. The rodeo team sponsors one rodeo a year, which costs them an “average of $5,000.00,” says Moedl. Other club expenses include transportation expenses and hotel rooms for rodeos that take place “away from home.”
-melisr@cc.usu.edu