News

Some of you may remember that it wasn’t that long ago that this motto accompanied our logo and signage …until, that is, we learned it had been copyrighted by another organization! However, while we have abandoned the phrase in our logo, it continues to apply to everything we try to do during the year to improve our facilities and our organization with a view to our community.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS, SPONSORS, AND OTHER SUPPORTERS

2023 proved to be a hugely successful year for us. We had a record number of events, terrific help and support from members and the community, and a wonderful Labour Day Weekend Pro Rodeo. That event is the only one of the season that the NVRA produces itself. All other events are organized by other groups such as Little Britches, High School Rodeo, the NV Kennel Club, the Cutting Horse Association, etc. who rent the grounds from us, and our task is preparing the facilities and ensuring that everything required is ready for its event, including clean washrooms, tidy grounds and stalls, and a ready arena. It’s a very significant responsibility for a small group like ours and we must rely heavily on help from our volunteers to get everything ready for these events and then to clean up afterwards.

We estimate that for the Pro Rodeo alone, we had approximately 50 volunteers working with our core group, and many others during the season who showed up on call to help us prepare and clean up for the other events that were held. To all of you who were able to give us your time and energy, thank you once again.

Similarly, this past year saw a record number of sponsors help us financially in putting on the Pro Rodeo. We depend heavily on our sponsors as it’s not possible to put on an event of this size and quality without that additional financial support. Indeed, over the past 4 years, our production costs have increased almost 50 per cent. Spectator attendance at the Rodeo has grown over the past few years and 2023 may have had the largest crowd watching the best production Merritt has seen in a very long time. All of this would not have been possible without the sponsorship provided by the Nicola Valley business community. While we try our best to thank each of our “Get ‘er done!”  sponsors personally, it’s important we use every opportunity to express our appreciation and urge our community to buy locally from the businesses who give to us each year.

Read Full Newsletter - PDF