Military and Frontier Days equally influence each other

Jul. 23—CHEYENNE — The relationship between Cheyenne Frontier Days and the military is a longstanding one.

So much so, that the first CFD rodeo was kicked off with the firing of a cannon from Fort D.A. Russell. It's a tradition that remains today.

"That just shows you the symbolism and the long-term dedication that the city, CFD and the base have," said Operations Committee chairman and retired Air Force Col. Brian Rico. "Neither one would be here without each other."

Rico was the Military Committee chairman from 2018-21, before the Tickets and Security committees were combined this year to form the Operations Committee, which he now leads. His first year in Cheyenne, he said, he didn't quite understand the importance and the connection between the military and CFD.

"As a military community, we understand what it takes to have volunteer communities," Rico said. "When we did fundraising, our sole fundraising was Cheyenne Frontier Days, and when I was a young captain my very first year, I didn't understand it. But when I came back as a group commander, it dawned on me, it's a staple."

Scott Fox held the Military Committee chairman's post in 2013 and 2014. He started volunteering at Frontier Park after moving to Cheyenne in 2008. Fox emphasized a lot of the volunteer work might go under the radar, but the airmen volunteer for things that need to be done, regardless of the task.

"There's not a lot of extra work for us here, and the military takes a lot of time out of their day to (volunteer) and raises money for their individual unit booster clubs, so they can support their members and their families," Fox said. "Every morning after a concert, somebody has to clean the stands, all of the food and beer has to be served, and that's a part a lot of people don't realize — that those are airmen from the base, and sometimes their families, just helping out their unit and community through Frontier Days."

The volunteer work helps create and build new relationships. "Family" was tossed around often as a term to describe those relationships within the CFD community. Fox just couldn't see himself leaving after he retired from the Air Force in 2014 for that reason.

"When you become a part of (CFD), and when you really get involved as a volunteer, it really is a family, and we decided 'Why we would move away from that family?,'" said Fox, a retired colonel. "While we love all of Cheyenne, CFD and that family is a big reason why we stayed."

Like Fox, Matt Dillow quickly embraced the environment around the "Daddy of 'em All." Dillow served as Military Committee chairman in 2012 after spending some time as a lead assistant, a role he admitted he wasn't very invested in at first. It didn't take long for his mind to change. He served again as committee chairman from 2016-18.

"I kinda jumped in with both feet and fell in love with Frontier Days pretty quickly once I got into it," he said. "The cool thing about Frontier Days is it's really the people. A lot of the things Frontier Days represents are pretty appealing. ... but it's the people that you meet that are the most (appealing)."

Part of a military family growing up, Dillow was constantly on the move. Moving so often and not having that opportunity to establish himself throughout his life made it tough to build deep relationships, he said. CFD changed that for him. It gave him the opportunity to connect with others like he couldn't in the past.

Those connections were one of the main reasons there wasn't much debate about where he would spend his time after retiring from the Air Force in July of last year.

"It's difficult to put roots down in any particular case," said Dillow, a former colonel. "What Frontier Days did for me was it gave me that opportunity to put those roots down, really get to know people in the community and understand how Cheyenne really works. ... It wasn't much of a debate of where we wanted to go or where we wanted to be when I retired."

Twenty years prior to Dillow, Joe Mulcahy retired from the Air Force. The three years prior to that, from 1998-2000, Mulcahy served as the Military Committee chairman.

How influential was CFD in Mulcahy's decision to stay in Cheyenne post-retirement?

"Extraordinarily influential," Mulcahy said. "The last three years of my military career, I'm thrust into this situation, and you make all these friends in the community. And you start to think, 'At the end of my military career, where are we going? What are we going to do?'"

There wasn't much time to soak in the question.

"I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving," he said. "Simple as that."

Mulcahy's situation played out differently than most volunteers who become members of the CFD General Committee. Like the other military representatives, he was appointed to his role. Most volunteers spend a decade or two before spending those three years on the committee. Mulcahy's role is reversed.

"I was appointed, so I have made a commitment after my General Committee time to volunteer for those 20-plus years," he said. "I'm over 20 years (volunteering) now, but I'm not planning to quit anytime soon. It's just trying to give back, and it's such a wonderful experience."

Robert Munoz is a writer for WyoSports. He can be reached at rmunoz@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter @rmunoz307.