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Rodeo committee donates to local organizations
A committee that hosts one of the region's largest rodeos provided nearly $4,000 in financial aid to local non-profit groups last week.
During a meeting Nov. 6, representatives from the Daniel Dopps Memorial Rodeo presented checks to seven organizations with additional scholarship money planned for two high school seniors.
Proceeds came from gate admissions and other events held in conjunction with this year's rodeo back in June.
The total amount of money raised during the two-day rodeo was about average for this yearly gathering of professional cowboys and cowgirls, said Matt Chandler, president of the Daniel Dopps Memorial Rodeo organization. This allowed the group to present the same level of support to local non-profit groups as it has in year's past.
The rodeo is named in honor of Daniel Dopps, a champion bull rider from Mountain Home that died in a rodeo in southeastern Idaho in 2005. Memorial rodeo representatives host the event in Mountain Home as a way to carry on his legacy.
"When we started this journey, this was our goal -- to have an event in Daniel's hometown that would give back to the community," said his mother, Ramona Dopps. "This is something he would be very proud of."
Among the groups receiving this financial support was the Ranchers Relief Society, which was created shortly after a pair of range fires swept through the northern part of Elmore County. The fires killed herds of cattle owned by local ranchers while causing extensive damage to local grazing land.
The rodeo organization was able to directly help ranchers and their families directly affected by these "catastrophic fires," Dopps said.
A lot of the money generated by the rodeo comes from "mom and pop shops" in Mountain Home that help sponsor the event each year, she added. It's this community-based support that helps the rodeo continue to grow.
Two charities were among the groups that received money during last week's presentation. The local Scooters for Hooters breast cancer awareness group and the local Leukemia and Lymphoma Society each received $500 to help in their battles against these diseases.
Meanwhile, the local Shop With A Cop program received an additional $500 with the rodeo committee presenting the Mountain Home Citizens on Patrol and Elmore County Sheriff's Reserve Deputies with $250 each.
"These groups are hoping to make a difference in what they do," Dopps said. The rodeo organization provides the funds to help groups like these "pay it forward" by reaching out to help others, she added.
Mountain Home represents a "picture perfect community" that comes together to support so many worthy causes made possible through efforts like the Daniel Dopps Rodeo, said Randi Smith, this year's memorial rodeo queen. Amazing things are associated with this rodeo, which welcomes competitors and fans like family, she said. "The community knows this rodeo, and they know Daniel," she added.
The donations come as rodeo organizers prepare for their next event, which will run from June 27 and 28 at Optimist Park in Mountain Home.