UPDATE 7-27-2007:

Printable version - In the Discussion Forum

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Texas Lineman's Rodeo Association, I would like to say that we are saddened and disappointed that the weather did not cooperate and allow us to hold the 11th Annual Texas Lineman's Rodeo. Below is a brief account of events that took place leading to the decision to cancel the rodeo.

On Friday July 20th, at approximately 11:30 a.m., a light drizzle started on the island, which soon turned into a torrential downpour. At 1:40 p.m., GBRA representatives notified us that they were seeing a large accumulation of rain in the Guadalupe River watershed around Seguin and they were concerned about the river flow of the Guadalupe. At 1:50 p.m., GBRA informed us that due to the heavy rains around Seguin and north into the hill country, the Guadalupe River was rising fast and in a concern for our safety that we should begin an organized, immediate evacuation of Nolte Island. At that point, the TLRA Board of Directors discussed how and who would direct the evacuation of the Island. The majority of vehicles, trucks and trailers parked on the field, vendor and BBQ areas had to be pulled to the gravel roads with the assistance of several tractors, digger trucks and other 4x4 vehicles. The mass exodus of the Island was successfully completed by 4:15 p.m. At approximately 5:30 P.M. the lower end of Nolte Island began to flood.

Upon returning to the Island on Saturday morning, we discovered that between 8 and 9 inches of rain had fallen and that a large amount of silt and debris had been deposited on the grounds. We spent the next several hours contacting the coordinators from each utility to inform them that they could return to the island and remove the remaining items that were left behind on Friday. All items were removed from the Island by 3 p.m. on Saturday. Fortunately for those that had to leave items behind on Friday they did not suffer any severe damages from the floodwaters.

The TLRA Board of Directors met on Saturday morning to discuss the events of Friday and to start working towards a decision on the 2007 Rodeo. We felt that a quick decision would not be in the best interest of the Rodeo or the utilities involved so we have been working diligently to examine all of the variables before coming up with our final decision.

With that said, the TLRA Board of Directors has made the decision to effectively cancel the 2007 Texas Lineman's Rodeo. The decision did not come without great debate and concern of what message would be sent to the utilities for future TLRA rodeos. We do not make our decisions without concern and compassion for the utilities that have spent their hard earned money and the employees spending their time in preparation for the Rodeo. Our decision was based on several factors. They included:

1. The safety and health of the participants, vendors and the public following the floodwaters receding and the unknown contents of the silt and mud from the water.
2. The inability to get around the Island with equipment after the flood.
3. The inability to get the 75+ judges and timekeepers, 40+ volunteers to be available on such a short notice to judge a rodeo.
4. The ability to get the teams re-assembled, pumped and ready to return.
5. The ability to get all of the vendors to return.
6. The ability to get the Island rebooked.
7. The ability to get all of the other things necessary for a second attempt.
8. And the weather, any rain will cause immediate flooding for the next few months at Nolte Island.
9. The school year starts for some districts.
10. The cost to move the field or construct a new field at another location.

The cost of attempting to reschedule the rodeo could get expensive and if we were to consider moving the field, it would cost more then the TLRA could afford. The TLRA is a non-profit, charitable, 501(c)(3) organization and our margins are tight at this time. We are three years old this year and hope to someday have enough left over to offer scholarships and training workshops for the electrical linemen in the state of Texas.

The Texas Lineman's Rodeo Association is managed by a Board of Directors that takes their positions very seriously and each one is obsessed with creating, planning and carrying out the best Lineman's Rodeo in the country. We consider it an honor to put on this Rodeo for every electric utility wanting to showcase the talents of their linemen. We have appointed an Advisory Board which is comprised of dedicated individuals that volunteer their time and talents to carry out the directives of the Board and organize the competitive side of the Rodeo. They too, make every effort to make the Rodeo one of a kind and the best competitive environment possible.

The TLRA Board of Directors is very conscious of every decision we make, especially when the decision is to cancel the 2007 rodeo. We do not take it lightly. But, we intend on doing our best to make it as right as we can to each participating utility, vendor and sponsor.

It is the consensus of the Board that we return all of the entry fees to the participating utilities. In addition, we will send each apprentice, lineman and judge signed up to participate, a TLRA cap, T-shirt and magazine that they would have received had the Rodeo taken place.

For those utilities, vendors, companies and individuals that were kind and generous enough to sponsor the Texas Lineman's Rodeo Association, we are offering to return the sponsorships, less fixed expenses that were incurred to put on the Rodeo and print the 2007 TLRA magazine.

In closing, if we could have changed the weather, we would have, if we could have held the Rodeo on Saturday as planned, we would have; but it was not to be. We apologize for any inconvenience that you have experienced and hope that you will consider attending the 2008 Texas Lineman's Rodeo. The Board of Directors will be discussing many issues in the coming year to make the 2008 Rodeo bigger and better than ever before.

We would like to thank Scarbrough, Medlin and Associates for their generous offer to assist the TLRA in the expense to send the letters, packages and magazines to all of the utilities, apprentices, linemen, judges and vendors that intended on participating in and volunteering at the 2007 rodeo.

We want to commend the employees of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority for the prompt and advanced warning of the impending flood and their cooperation in assisting in the safe evacuation of Nolte Island Park. We would also like to extend a grateful thank you to all of the utilities who worked so diligently together in making sure everyone made it off of the Island safely. We could not have done it without you.

Sincerely yours,

Robert B. Christmas
Chairman TLRA

Update 7-25-2007:

Due to the flooding on Friday and the forecast for additional flooding of the Guadalupe River the Texas Lineman’s Rodeo association’s Board of Directors has voted to cancel the 2007 Texas Lineman’s Rodeo. The damage to the rodeo grounds was more extensive than first thought and the flood waters deposited a large amount of silt and debris on the island and the Board felt that as a safety precaution for the health of the participants and the public, we should make the call and cancel the rodeo. Therefore we will not reschedule the rodeo to a later date as initially hoped. A follow-up statement from the Board will be posted on the website later this week.

Bobby Christmas
TLRA Chairman

UPDATE 9:00 AM 7-21-07:

TLRA's Bobby Christmas is in contact with GBRA as they evaluate the condition of Nolte Island Park (Rodeo Grounds) to allow entry onto the island for those that have material left behind after yesterday's evacuation.

The TLRA will have someone at the headquarter hotel, Holiday Inn of Seguin, for the remainder of the day to answer any questions that you may have locally. If you have urgent needs, please contact Bobby Christmas at 830-857-5069.

Any updates will be posted as received. Again thank you for your understanding and patience while we work through this situation.

Update 10:00PM 7-20-07:

Due to excessive rainfall around South-Central Texas area, which has caused flooding on and around GBRA Nolte Island Park located in Guadalupe County, the TLRA regretfully has to cancel the 11th Annual Texas Lineman's Rodeo for 2007.

More information will be posted to the website and forum on Saturday, July 21st., 2007.