RODEO DOLLARS RIDE INTO SIKESTON AREA

SIKESTON -- It's hard say exactly how many dollars the annual Jaycee's rodeo brings to Sikeston, but Jim Schwaninger knows it goes beyond the city limits.

Most of Siketon's 651 hotel rooms are booked for rodeo, which starts Wednesday and runs through Aug. 14. But this allows Sikeston to share the wealth, said Schwaninger, president of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce.

"We'll refer people to hotels in Cape and the surrounding area," he said. "So this has an impact on the region as a whole."

The rodeo, in its 47th year, grosses about $100,000 each year by itself, Schwaninger said. The Jaycee's donate the money back to the city.

"It all goes back to the community, giving us additional social services and a better overall quality of life," he said.

Although it doesn't bring money to many retail merchants, it has many benefits for the community as a whole, said David Friedman. Last year, the Jaycees donated $55,000 to the Missouri Delta Medical Center for a kidney diaylosis machine. In the past they have also given money to a local soup kitchen and Siketon's vo-tech school, Friedman said.

The rodeo is a regional tourist attraction, drawing spectators from southern Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Bootheel, Schwaninger said.

He is particularly interested in the first-time visitors.

"This is our chance to make an impression on them," he said.

In the 27 years that Randy Bohannon has operated Bo's Barbecue, the rodeo has always added 10 to 15 percent to his business.

"From after lunch until the rodeo starts about 7 in the evening, people will stop in and pick up some barbecue," Bohannon said.

All of the estimated 40,000 people who attend the rodeo have to pass by Bohannon's restaurant on their way to the grounds. At Lynn Lancaster's restaurant on Sikeston's north side, rodeo has no impact.

"We're away from the hotels and the main part of town," Lancaster said. "People on the east end have a phenomenal week during rodeo, especially the restaurants."

Little land is left for development in the east part of Sikeston, Lancaster said. He is waiting for development of a nearby highway exchange, which he expects to bring in more customers.

Schwaninger has tried to get more businesses into the spirit of rodeo by promoting "Seen in Jeans" week. Although many managers already allow their employees to dress casually during rodeo week, Schwaninger is suggesting that each employee pay a $1 for the privilege. The money will be put in a fund to further a "city of flags" theme, he said.

The fund would pay for constructing displays with U.S. flags welcoming drivers to Sikeston. He said they would be built on Highways 61 and 62.