It all began five decades ago
when four stalwart members of the Brawley community put their heads
together to build an arena and produce the first Cattle Call Rodeo in
1958.
One member of the original group —Al Smith survives.
While the others, Dick Smith (no relation), Louise Willey and Ed
Rutherford, have passed away. Al Smith continues to operate his real
estate office, celebrated his 89th birthday last Oct. 16.
Currently,
the Rodeo Committee comprises eight members, and they are poised to
produce this year’s 52nd annual Cattle Call Rodeo the weekend of Nov. 8
and 9.
Three committee members are related to the original group. Carson
Kalin is Mrs. Willey s son. Phillip Rutherford is Ed s son, and Curtis
Rutherford is Ed s nephew. Other members are Don Alford, Larry Allen,
Joanie Moore, Danny Williams and Robin Williams (not related).
Today’s
committee members are community leaders who are engaged in full-time
farming and business pursuits. They are very busy people, yet they
remain committed to putting together a memorable rodeo year after year.
Our goal is to make each rodeo better than the last one,
commented Kalin. Sometimes, major changes and improvements take place,
while at other times the changes are more subtle.
Our mission
statement is to help Brawley by maintaining and improving Cattle Call
Park and to use the rodeo itself as a vehicle to aid in the
fund-raising efforts of service clubs and organizations. Those
organizations, in turn, give back to the community through their
projects, scholarships and philanthropies.
Each member of the committee has expertise in a particular phase of the overall production.
