Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo committee will continue to exist, seeks new members

Sep. 6—Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo committee will continue, looking for new members

Despite the resignation of around 20 members and previous announcements to the contrary, the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo Committee will endure. Bob Kohman, president of the Central Kansas Free Fair's board of directors, said the board will be meeting Sept. 7 to speak with people who are interested in being a member of the committee.

"The rodeo committee is still going to exist. It's not going away," Kohman said. "We have every expectation that that committee will continue to do a great job the previous committee has done."

On Saturday night, Aug. 6, Jerry Marsteller, former president of the rodeo committee, announced the rodeo committee would not be the same moving forward and the Central Kansas Free Fair board will be taking over the duties of the rodeo committee. Twenty members are leaving the board, but the committee as a group is not being dissolved, Kohman said. The rodeo committee is a subcommittee of the fair board.

Marsteller declined an interview with the Reflector-Chronicle.

Kohman said three to four previous committee members have unofficially told him they would like to stay members. One of the members who confirmed they are staying on the rodeo committee is Stan Norman, vice president of the committee. The fair board's Sept. 7 meeting aims to solidify who is joining and remaining on the committee. Kohman expects to fill the committee with 15 to 20 new members, as he has had several people approach him about joining this month.

Anonymous sources told the Reflector-Chronicle the Central Kansas Free Fair's board of directors has been working to take over and dissolve the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo Committee. Kohman, in response to these claims, said the fair board has been working to do just the opposite. The board has been reworking the financial arrangements to give the rodeo committee more financial and decision freedom so that the committee is the "sole decision maker on who they are going to hire," Kohman said. In the past, the fair board and the rodeo committee's finances were, "convoluted and messy," Kohman said. Before, the fair board generally had to approve the financial decisions of the rodeo committee.

"I don't know the first darn thing about putting on a rodeo, and I haven't studied it," he said. "I don't know what our alternatives are, so it's more or less just a rubber stamp. Our proposal was that we trust that the guys and gals on the rodeo committee will make those decisions based on their knowledge and expertise of rodeo."

The past financial arrangement is a major reason why, Kohman said, the rodeo committee and fair board have had many disagreements in the past. Some of the former committee members left because of the issues between the board and committee. Some of the members told Kohman they wanted to retire and move on with their lives.

While Stan Norman agrees that the financial arrangement is a reason problems arose between the two groups, Norman said the way the fair board has handled implementing the changes has also been an issue. Norman said he thinks Kohman is attempting to simplify the financial arrangement, but Kohman's and the rest of the committee's approach to the rodeo committee with the changes increased the tensions between the two groups enough for the 20 or so members to resign.

"The way things were worded from the fair board to the rodeo committee, it was sort of like, 'either accept these conditions or you can resign'... That stuck me really hard. I didn't like it," Norman said.

Due to the wording and approach of the fair board, Norman said the board seemed like they were taking over the committee. Whether that outlook is true or not, Norman said how the situation will turn out and how it will be seen in the future is yet to be determined.

"Are we working under the fair board or working with the fair board? I think that's a crucial question," Norman said.

Both Norman and Kohman said the fair board and rodeo committee made mistakes in this situation.

"I quite frankly felt a mediator that had no opinion in the game should have been brought in to work it out between the two entities," Norman said. "I think we could have avoided where we are at right now if that had been done."

For historical perspective, Norman said Joyce Romberger, member of the fair board at the time, in 1985 asked about five people to become the committee because the fair board could not handle organizing the rodeo moving forward. Overtime, the rodeo grew so large that the rodeo became a high priority from a financial perspective.

"I don't think they saw (the rodeo) becoming the monster it became," Norman said. "Monster's a good thing. It means big. It became such a professional event."

Norman, who has been a member of the rodeo committee for around 20 years, said he decided to stay on the committee to ensure the community can keep the rodeo that has a large history and economic pull. Some of the committee members who resigned may be back as the tensions decrease, he said. Kohman said any previous members are welcome to rejoin the committee.

"You can't possibly replace all the years and the time, effort and energy that those people have put in," Kohman said. "You can't just take 20 people off the group and put 20 people new in and expect it to be, 'show goes on.' We would love to have their knowledge and expertise, but they've got to make that choice for themselves."

Kohman said the committee's tasks and overall job of organizing the rodeo will remain the same. The fair board is still dictating the new dates of the fair, Aug. 1-6, and the rodeo, Aug. 1-4.

Norman said he does not agree with the board's decision to shift the nights of rodeo to Tuesday to Friday instead of Wednesday to Saturday. Saturday is one of rodeo's largest attendance nights, and Tuesday will not be, "a good money-maker," Norman said.

While the committee will have the power to make changes to the rodeo, Kohman said any significant changes won't be made for the 2023 rodeo.

"I would fully expect, if you didn't know any better, the show that you will see will be very similar to what we've come to expect in the past," he said.

Moving forward, Norman said he hopes the new committee members can maintain the usual caliber of Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo for next year. He has several new ideas to improve the rodeo. While there will be some, "bumps," to work out in the next few years, Norman said he thinks the fair board and rodeo committee can overcome them and keep producing high-quality rodeos.

"One of my goals is I'd like to see this rodeo finally make the top and be recognized as a top medium-sized rodeo in the Untied States," Norman said. "We've been in the top five, just not made number one. I think we have to do some things that might make it more appealing."

Norman also said sponsors dropping their support is a possible outcome of the situation, but he is not, "afraid," of that happening.

Kohman said he thanks the former members of the rodeo committee for all their years of work and dedication

"We have nothing but the utmost respect for everything they have done and the contributions they have made to the rodeo over the last 36 years," Kohman said.

Kohman said he welcomed anyone who wanted to attend the Central Kansas Free Fair board's next meeting. The meeting is Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Sterl Hall.

"It's a recruitment meeting, but it's also to develop our plan because time's ticking. We've got sponsor relations that we need to work with. We've got to continue to work with contractors that we have in place moving forward," Kohman said. "(The meeting's) not necessarily going to be treated as a brainstorm or a big grand idea session. We kind of have a general plan of what we are going to do for 2023. We're just trying to figure out who's going to do the work."