The 31st Annual Casey Tibbs Foundation Tribute Dinner will be held Saturday, Nov. 7 and tickets are still available.
The Tribute Dinner is an opportunity for friends and families in the ranching and rodeo communities to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of South Dakota cowboys, cowgirls, families and animal athletes. This event is an annual fundraiser for the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center. The nominee’s photos and biographies are added each year to the permanent “Wall of Fame” in the Rodeo Center.
This year’s honorees are:
- Rodeo Cowgirl Great: Carole Hollers
- Rodeo Cowboy Great: Bob Shedeed
- Past Rodeo Great: Bill Myers Sr.
- Rodeo Promoter: Paul and Brenda Gropper
- Ranch Cowboy Family: The Stanley Johnston Family
- Rodeo Animal Athlete: Dillon & Doc- Owned by Jim Whiting
Contact the Casey Tibbs SD Rodeo Center at 605-494-1094 or go to www.caseytibbs.com for more information.
Rodeo Cowgirl Great: Carole Hollers— Carole (Waters) Hollers grew up in Lodi, Wisconsin. Her family always had horses and went to timed event shows throughout her childhood. As a high school freshman, she started breakaway roping, qualifying for NHSFR in 1977. She attended UW River Falls where she competed in Barrels, Breakaway and goat-tying, qualifying for the CNFR in 1982 in Barrels. Other notable accomplishments include: 4-time SDRA Breakaway Champion, 7-time NRCA Breakaway Champion, 4-time NRCA Finals Breakaway Champion, 1988 Coors World Finals All Around, 2009 SDRA All-Around Champion, 1992 and 2011 NRCA All Around Champion.
Carole has been involved with young ropers since 1992 when she and Jerry Golliher began hosting Breakaway Roping clinics. Realizing how much she enjoyed helping youth, she accepted the position of SDHSRA National Director in 2004 which she continued until early 2010. She has also flagged Sturgis High School Rodeo, SDHSRA Finals and 4-H Finals. She served 10 years as SDRA Breakaway Director, 2 years as PWRA Director of WPRA, 6 years as National Director of the SDHSRA and 28 years of teaching Breakaway Clinics where she and the Gollihers have helped over 1,200 area students.
Rodeo Cowboy Great: Bob Shedeed— Bob Shedeed was born in Colome, South Dakota, in 1943. With help from his wife, Donna, and Butch Terrell, Bob started roping at the age of 30. Between the years of 1980 to 2012, Bob won numerous team and calf roping titles, some of the most notable being: NSPRA World Champion All Around in 1994 and 2005, Reserve World Champion All Around in 2003, World Champion Ribbon Roper in 1993 and 1994, Reserve World Champion Ribbon Roper in 2003, World Champion Calf Roper in 1994, Reserve World Champion Calf Roper in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005, World Champion Team Roper in 1994, Finals Calf Roping Champion in 1993, Canadian AA Champion in 2003, Champion Team Roper in 2003, and Champion Ribbon Roper in 2004. Bob and Donna won the NSPRA All Around titles in 2005, and in 2008, Bob and Butch Terrel won the Finals Team roping Championship. Bob also won the SDPRA Team Roping Championships and the NSPRA Team Roping Championships with Dale Woodard in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Along with his roping accomplishments, Bob and his wife led the SDPRA “Cowboy Church” services for 17 years. They now reside in Hermosa, South Dakota.
Past Rodeo Great: Bill Myers Sr.— Billy Myers, a paratrooper/veteran of WWII in the 101st Airborne division was also one of South Dakota’s most well-respected bronc and bareback riders of the 1950’s. In the 1940’s Billy left South Dakota with Casey Tibbs to work for The Roberts in Kansas where they were taught the finer point of riding bucking horses. Placing at all major rodeos in his time and 2nd in the saddle bronc riding in Madison Square Garden on ten head of broncs in 1952, some of his most notable accomplishments include: winning the bareback riding at the Snake River Stampede in Napa, Idaho, in 1954, major money winner at Boston Garden, Prescott, Denver, Fort Worth and Miles City rodeos. Billy died in 1965.
Rodeo Promoter: Paul and Brenda Gropper— Paul and Brenda live at LongValley, SD, and have two children, Clay (Jen) Gropper-Mitchell, SD and Renee (Dustin) Harvey-Interior, SD. They have six wonderful granddaughters. Paul participated in Little Britches, High School, College, SDRA, NRCA, and PRCA. In 1971, Paul won 2nd in Bull Riding at NHSRA Finals and 13 saddles in SDRA and NRCA. They won SDRA Team Penning in 1998. Paul was a National Intercollegiate for 2 years, a director in the SDRA and NRCA, and a member of SDRA for 30 years.
In 1977 and 1978, Paul traveled to Denver and Tulsa on the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Team (LA Spurs,) competing in Steer Wrestling and Bull Riding.
In 1979, they started the Central Entry Office and from 1980-1987 Brenda worked for Dorothy Bligh. Then in 1988, Central Entry Office came back to the Gropper house for the next 15 years. The Central Entry Office worked to make all rodeos great for all committees, contractors and contestants.
In the fall of 1987, Paul was elected President of the SDRA and was President for the next 15 years. During that time, the SDRA increased membership, increased the number of rodeos, added Team Penning and held the Finals indoors in Sioux Falls. With this growth came more sponsorships, TV, video board and involvement with Make-A-Wish. They are immensely proud of all their relationships they built with the sponsors, M-A-W, and all the people who helped make the Finals a success. Every year, after the Finals, they would start working on how to make it bigger and better. Notably, from 2003-2013, they helped Harvey and Brenda Bierema with the NBRT. Currently, Paul and Brenda are on the ranch at Long Valley, working and spending more time with granddaughters, family and friends.
Ranch Cowboy Family: The Stanley Johnston Family— Stanley & Frances Johnston grew up in the Burwell, Nebraska, area. They moved to Ree Heights in the early 1950’s and bought a ranch north of Ree Heights, then later sold it for a ranch south of Ree Heights, plus a horse property on the south side of town. They took great pride in raising registered Angus cows and Quarter Horses. In the early 1950’s the Johnston’s bought a horse property in Wickenberg, Arizona, where they lived about 7 months out of the year. Traveling back and forth with horses was at least a three-day trip multiple times each Spring and Fall. The Johnston’s enjoyed raising top quality rodeo and cutting horses until their passing. Stanley and Frances had a daughter, Jeanie, and a son, Randy. Granddaughter Glenda and her daughter Courtney are 3rd and 4th generation owners of the Johnston Ranch today.
Rodeo Animal Athlete: Dillon & Doc- Owned by Jim Whiting— “Doc” and “Dillion,” owned by Jim Whiting, made the perfect team from day one. Both horses were very smart and gritty. They knew their jobs and did them well. They always tended to business no matter how many cowboys were mounted on them at a rodeo. There were multiple rodeos where all the money was won off the two of them. “Doc” the hazing horse, was bought in 1980 from Joe Dorenkamp. “Dillion” the steer wrestling horse, was bought in 1979 from Stan Williamson. In 1982 and 1983 Dillion was voted Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year in the Badlands Circuit.
Interested parties have until June 1, 2021, to nominate honorees for next year’s Tribute Dinner.
Acronym Key:
- National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA)
- National Finals Rodeo (NFR)
- South Dakota Rodeo Association (SDRA)
- Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)
- Great Plains Indian Rodeo Association (GPIRA)
- Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR)
- College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR)
- Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR)
- Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA)
- South Dakota High School Rodeo (SDHSR)
- National High School Rodeo (NHSR)
- Northwest Ranch Rodeo Cowboy Assn (NRCA) SD, ND, WY, MT & NE.
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