Sikeston Jaycees busy with rodeo prep

SIKESTON, Mo. -- With about 60 days left leading up to their 60th annual rodeo, the Sikeston Jaycees are busy readying the grounds for the city's biggest event.

"We get fantastic support through the community for this event," said Chris Deen, general chairman of this year's rodeo. "As long as we have that, we'll have everything we need."

The rodeo, which is set for Aug. 8 to 11, is the culmination of months of preparation and hours of hard work -- nearly all donated by Jaycee members and other civic groups.

Proceeds from the rodeo and other Jaycee events help finance all sorts of projects in the community, benefiting Missouri Delta Medical Center, the YMCA, Kenny Rogers Children's Center and others.

Deen said no major projects are taking place before this year's rodeo, just general maintenance. However, there's enough work to keep Jaycees busy right up until time for the rodeo, he said.

"We're getting close to being 60 days out, and coming up within the next few weeks, we'll be out at the rodeo grounds every night," Deen said.

The Jaycees are at the rodeo grounds at least three days a week, preparing for the August event, which they begin planning about a month after the previous rodeo ends.

"Things are going pretty good. We're getting back into the swing of things," said Barry Johnson, co-chairman of the rodeo.

Both Johnson and Deen said Jaycee members are busy spraying and killing weeds on the rodeo grounds along with the regular mowing and trimming.

"We're getting everything ready in the box seats," Deen said.

Jaycees are also busy repairing pens that were broken during last year's rodeo, and they're also replacing some posts in the ground.

Much of the work is being done in the area of the pens and chutes.

"Some posts are getting to where they're rotting out, and a large animal bumping up against doesn't take much for it to break," Deen said.

Other areas like concessions and the arena are being worked on, too, Deen said.

"Ticket sales are really good right now. There are still plenty of tickets available for each night," Deen said.

Johnson noted this year a couple sections of seating are designated as nonalcoholic while some sections will offer lower ticket prices to accommodate families.

Scheduled entertainment for this year's rodeo are: The Band Perry, Aug. 8; Jerrod Niemann, Aug. 9; Easton Corbin, Aug. 10; and Justin Moore, Aug. 11.

Pink Awareness Night is planned for Aug. 11, while the Patriot Night, set aside to pay tribute to veterans, is Aug. 9.

The parade and community day are Aug. 11, beginning at the Kindergarten Center and ending downtown, Deen said. Also, the celebrity golf tournament will back Aug. 10, with proceeds benefiting the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.

Johnson said the arena crew are getting things ready for the pageants, which are all scheduled for June 30 in the Sponsor Building at the rodeo grounds.

"We've tried to move the pageants earlier in the year," Deen said, referring to the pageants normal taking place in July.

This way the rodeo queens can become familiar with the public and vice versa before rodeo week, when they make several public appearances, he said.

For more information about the pageants, purchasing tickets, becoming a sponsor or more, go to the rodeo website, www.sikestonrodeo.com, or call the ticket office at 1-800-455-2855. The ticket office is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Pertinent address:

1220 N. Ingram Road, Sikeston, MO