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Spanish Fork Rodeo Reading Challenge- Nick Porter and Seth Perrins
145 Plays2 years ago
On this episode, join us as we dive into the Spanish Fork Rodeo Reading Challenge. Nick Porter and Seth Perrins of the Fiesta Days Rodeo, share their personal journeys and the profound impact the challenge has had on their lives. Discover how this remarkable rodeo reading challenge is fostering a love for reading in elementary school students, uniting the community, and inspiring personal growth. Don't miss out on these engaging tales of literary exploration and enrichment through rodeo, ag, and reading. For a full episode transcript, visit our website at www.justinboots.com/en/kick-your-boots-up.html.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:03
Speaker
You're listening to the Kick Your Boots Up podcast, where we swap stories of the West. Whether you're just waking up or getting in for the day, come on in and kick your boots up.
Meet the Guests: Seth Parrance & Nick Porter
00:00:13
Speaker
Joining us for the Kick Your Boots Up podcast today is an incredible story. And these two people are the forerunners that kind of help get it all done. All the way from Spanish Fork, Utah, we have two incredible
Seth Parrance's Rodeo Involvement
00:00:25
Speaker
guests. First up, we have Mr. Seth Parrance. He is the Spanish Fork City Manager here in Spanish Fork, Utah.
00:00:31
Speaker
And we'll get to hear his story on a little bit of balance, being a committee man for several years on their local rodeo and also being the city manager. Sitting next to him is none other than Nick Porter. He's the public info officer for the city of Stanish Fork. And these two men have an incredible story to tell. You are about to hear it right here on the kick your boots up podcast. And guys, I am so thankful that you're taking the time to be here. I know it's rodeo week. So you guys are getting started.
Rodeo History & Diamond Fork Riding Club
00:00:57
Speaker
You've already have the setup.
00:00:59
Speaker
You know, tell us a little bit about how you guys both got involved in the Spanish work yes today's rodeo. That's an excellent question and honestly it's one of the highlights, I think for both of us individually all that Nick speak a little about his experience but I've been involved with the rodeo since around 2005. And I won't get into the whole story of that because frankly it's a little embarrassing.
00:01:20
Speaker
But I love being a part of the rodeo and I've been the city manager since 2016 and being a part of the rodeo committee is one of the hats I get to wear as the city manager.
00:01:34
Speaker
And that's a unique opportunity and a unique makeup of our rodeo committee that is connected between what was the founding rodeo committee, that founding riding club, the Diamond Fork Riding Club. It started this rodeo over 80 years ago.
Nick Porter's Role with Fiesta Days Rodeo
00:01:52
Speaker
And then the city. And so on our committee, not only am I a part of it as a city manager, but also we have our
00:01:59
Speaker
mayor that sits on the committee, and our fairgrounds manager, and then our parks and rec director as well. So there is a lot of involvement and a lot of investment that the city has put into the success of this rodeo. And then we have the expertise of the riding club, the Diamond Fork Riding Club, and that is a great marriage between the two of us that has helped over the last, certainly the last 20 years, but the 80 year history of this rodeo to make it really a success, and frankly, the best rodeo in the state of Utah.
00:02:29
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. And I'm sure Nick, I'm sure your story is just as unique. Tell us about it. Yeah. So I came to Spanish for work. Just, I just hit my three year anniversary last month and it's been a wild ride and it's been a lot of fun. So just, they told me that I was in charge of teaching 45,000 students all about Spanish for work and what we do and who we are.
00:02:49
Speaker
And some of the fun things we get to do are the Fiesta Days rodeo. So I remember my first rodeo as an employee, I talked to our rodeo chairman and said, I think I want to go behind the scenes and show the people on our social media a little bit about what the rodeo
City Employees & Community Engagement
00:03:03
Speaker
is, things they might not, they won't get to see if they just come and sit in the stands.
00:03:07
Speaker
So I got to stand right behind the chutes where the Bronx and the Bulls were. I got to go back behind where all of the livestock and steer were. And it was eye-opening for me and to teach others. And since then, I haven't missed a rodeo. I don't plan to. They wrote me into doing the reading challenge assemblies, which I know is our main topic today. And we'll talk about that.
00:03:31
Speaker
And it's just been a lot of fun being involved in different aspects of the rodeo, but it's really at all hands on deck as it comes to Spanish Fork City.
Spanish Fork Reading Challenge Introduction
00:03:39
Speaker
This is one of our main events of the year. So as City employees, we work through this rodeo season, but really everything that we do really goes on hold, right? This week as the rodeo is leading up to the few days before the rodeo and the next
00:03:57
Speaker
Five or six days of rodeo. It's almost like taking a vacation and working at the same time, because you're not doing your day job functions, if you will.
00:04:08
Speaker
Everything that needs to happen to get ready during the day for that performance at night and then you sleep all night long hard because you got to wake up early and do it all over again. So it's really kind of a vacation from the day job, even though at night you're still working. So we really enjoy that part of this Fiesta Days rodeo week as well. There's no other time where you work as art or play as art. That's true.
00:04:31
Speaker
Ooh, well said. And you know, most rodeos have a lot of community involvement, but I've got to really commend you guys because there you are serving your city every single day and then turning right around and volunteering your time at the rodeo that speaks volumes of your character. And you know, another thing that we have to cover on this podcast is the Spanish Fork Reading Challenge. You guys have set a goal for these kids to read and, um, it also teaches them how to overcome challenges and how to stick with things and how to just commit to something for an entire month.
Evolution of the Reading Challenge
00:05:00
Speaker
So.
00:05:00
Speaker
I don't know who wants to start first, but tell us about the Spanish Book Reading Challenge and how it all began. Yeah. So the reading challenge started in 2014 and we were hosting the Champions Challenge, which was an event that the PRCA held for a handful of years. And that's where this started. And it was a one day, one event focus. And we thought it'd be great to pit all of the schools against each other in a friendly competition of reading.
00:05:30
Speaker
And we reached out to Justin boots to see if they could help if you could help in. And maybe giving us some prizes for it and that was really the brainchild of what we're doing today and it's certainly still connected to what it was but it's gotten bigger and even better.
00:05:46
Speaker
as we've shifted from the Champions Challenge event that it was to just part of the Fiesta Days Rodeo itself. And what we do is we go to every elementary school in Spanish Fork and we talk to them, we invite them to read. And we encourage them to read as many minutes as possible. And we do assemblies in each of these schools and we have
00:06:10
Speaker
ten nine nine
Reading Challenge Success & Impact
00:06:12
Speaker
this year nine schools so that's a long that's a long couple of days we visit each of these schools and do these assemblies but wouldn't you say nick that when we go into those schools and the kids know that it's cowboy day it's a it's the rodeo assembly day they light up it is their favorite assembly of the entire year i agree the most principals will send out a notification reminding them to wear their their get up to school
00:06:36
Speaker
And so they all come in with their hats and boots and bandanas that we gave out a couple of years ago. And it's really fun to see the energy that the kids bring into the assemblies. Yeah, so we go in and we do these assemblies and we give them a challenge every year to read a lot longer, maybe even just a little bit more, right? If you read for 30 minutes a day, read for 35 or whatever to make it so you qualify potentially to be the winner.
00:07:02
Speaker
And we've seen every year growth in the minutes read per student across all these schools. And that's, I think, for us, maybe one of the greatest joys that we're helping to get kids excited about reading while we're promoting the Western way of life through these assemblies and promoting our own rodeo as well. And Nick, I believe you have some stats that you can share with us. Tell us a little bit about how long these students have been reading, what they do, and what it equals. What is it equivalent to?
00:07:30
Speaker
Absolutely. So Seth said we've been increasing each year and last year minutes per student per day was was a 14-minute average. This year students got up to 15 over 15 minutes per student per day. So if you add that all up it's really equivalent to four years and we like to blow their mind and we say you know you read for fourth
00:07:55
Speaker
They're almost 35,000 hours. And I'll ask them, how many of you are 35,000 hours old? And they're all stumped until we say, well, that's just over four years. How many of you are four or five? And we'll get the kindergartners to raise their
Combining Rodeo & Reading
00:08:10
Speaker
hand. And it's a lot of fun. So this year, the students did 2,076,500 minutes.
00:08:19
Speaker
Our winning school was also our smallest school that averaged 25 and a half minutes per student per day. And so congratulations to Park Elementary. That's a great number to see. But there was some stiff competition. I think the second place school was about 24.7 minutes per student per day. So they're pushing each other. And it's been really fun to see the minutes and hours go up each year per student.
00:08:46
Speaker
And what a fun and unique way to get the community involved. You're not only encouraging kids to go to the rodeo by dangling a beautiful carrot of some rodeo tickets out their head, but you're encouraging parents to sit down with their kids. You're kind of building something that is way more important than any physical need, which is the connection with their parents.
00:09:06
Speaker
I commend you guys there too. Thank you for doing that. I think of my niece throughout this whole time. She's right at that age and she loves to read, but she would love to have a little challenge like that. If I could get the chance to be the best or read faster or better, there's just so many benefits there. I'm genuinely curious about you both. What does it mean to you to be a part of something that's way bigger than yourself and way bigger than the community as well?
00:09:32
Speaker
I you know, when you do these assemblies that we put on and and different members of our committee, of course, there's there's a number of great, great men that are part of our committee and great participants in what we do. If you are, if you're having a bad day, go do one of these assemblies.
00:09:50
Speaker
As you walk into that school and the kids see you there, you are a rock star. And if you're having a long week and you're tired or whatever, you go into this school and you're just picked up. And they just love you and praise you, if you will.
00:10:10
Speaker
it's it becomes really easy and then all you need to do is talk about what a rodeo is and the different events that we have and we usually have a little bit of fun. I always feel bad for the school because the principals and then teachers are always trying to have their kids be behaved right quiet sit still that kind of an environment and an assembly and we come in there and just blow the roof off and
School Assemblies & Community Experiences
00:10:30
Speaker
got them yelling and screaming and and we'll play different games. We'll we'll do a quick tie or a quick lassoing activity or we might do a barrel racing activity and
00:10:40
Speaker
depending on the year and when you're done, you are not having a bad day if you had one going in. And so really for us, it might have been given as an assignment, but having done it once and done it multiple times now, it's one that I quickly raise my hand for and say, can I do it because it's very gratifying.
00:11:03
Speaker
Yeah, through various circumstances, I was kind of bench player that got put in the starting lineup this year. And I don't know if I kept that spot, but I sure hope so because it was a blast. And I think for me, I actually have a seven year old and this was his second assembly. So kindergarten last year in first grade this year, and he loves it. And his friends love the rodeo and he loves to mutton bust and he keeps growing out of the boots and I keep buying him new ones. But
00:11:31
Speaker
It's a lot of fun just to see new rodeo fans that want to come to the rodeo every year, that want to bring their families. We tell them all of what the events are at the rodeo so that they can teach their parents and friends and families when they come. And I think they really enjoy knowing what's happening at the rodeo when they're with other people.
00:11:52
Speaker
And the timing of it all this gives them plenty of time to learn those skills and get ready for the rodeo even better, but one thing that I want to talk about a little bit is mutton best and you mentioned your son loves mutton best in. We at Justin are huge fans of mutton best and
Prizes for Reading Challenge Winners
00:12:07
Speaker
that's why we put them on all across the US and. I just i'm so curious to hear your your perspective on the importance of mutton best in there and what you think it does to shape the future of rodeo.
00:12:17
Speaker
I think it's a chance for these kids to get involved and see how much fun it is performing in front of thousands of people. And we've had 72 consecutive don't trust that they should go backwards and put their legs around the neck, the sheep's neck. The first year, my son didn't want to do that. He wanted to go forwards and he saw a big a big score increase when he flipped around the next year.
00:12:40
Speaker
And so just giving them a chance to perform and be a part of this great sport and event, I think is something that's really beneficial. I think really, it really is. And, um, sorry to cut you off there, Seth, but, um, going back to kind of the, the prizes and the awards, um, you guys offer a plethora of things. I know the school, the winning school gets a trophy. Talk us through all the different prizes. Cause it's a lot, the Cowboys and Cal girls out there get to be dressed from head to toe.
00:13:07
Speaker
Yeah, this is one of the, I think, special parts of the story and quite frankly, one of the reasons why we were excited to join you on the podcast today to really express our gratitude as a rodeo committee and as a community for the involvement of Justin. I mentioned back in 2014 we started this program and it was through the generosity of Justin and the work of Tom Feller
00:13:32
Speaker
who stepped up and said, we would love to participate and let us give you the boots that you want. And so we developed the program, two winners per school. And since then, I think we've added one or two schools. So that number keeps growing as our community grows. But we started by giving a pair of boots to two students in each school. And about four or five years later,
00:13:59
Speaker
we were getting ready to go take the students into the arena like we will here
Promoting Reading Culture in Spanish Fork
00:14:06
Speaker
tonight. All the cowboys, these little cowboys and little cowgirls were in the room where we start. Tom was there and other representatives from other of our national sponsors were there.
00:14:22
Speaker
And Tom, unbeknownst to us, just with the relationships that he has and the connections within that rodeo world with his friends and counterparts at Wrangler and Resist Hall, started talking to them. And he pointed out, look at these kids, look at the smiles on their faces as they've walked in here sporting these new Justin boots.
00:14:42
Speaker
And he put the idea into their minds that wouldn't it be great if they didn't just have Justin boots but if they also had Wrangler jeans and maybe a resist all hat. And the next year we had Wrangler and resist all join in and as you mentioned now we outfit these cowboys and cowgirl winners
00:15:03
Speaker
from head to toe with a pair of boots, a pair of jeans, and a resist all hat. So a couple of years ago, we had a local store jump in and provide a rodeo t-shirt as well. So they walk out fully dressed and just look fantastic in their fiesta days clothes, their Justin boots, and ring their jeans, and a resist all hat. So it's pretty neat to see these kids. And the only downside to everything that we do is because of their ages, like Nick mentioned a moment ago,
00:15:30
Speaker
Most of them have grown out of the boots and the jeans by the time we get to the rodeo next year. So I guess that is encouragement for them to keep reading, trying to win again and try to get a new pair. Because that's the downside, I guess. They might outgrow them within a year.
00:15:48
Speaker
And who knows, they might even outgrow them from the time they won in April to the time the rodeo happens too. Yeah, that's true. I think another, the other fun thing, the other prize is tickets to the rodeo. So they all come one
Overview of Fiesta Days
00:16:02
Speaker
night of the rodeo. It's the only night we don't do must and pre-show because we march these students out and give them the recognition they deserve. But as you think about the themes of our rodeo,
00:16:13
Speaker
Patriot night, tough enough to our pink night, and then our rodeo reading challenge winners. That's hopefully shows how important reading is and this partnership that we have, that it's a big deal to read in Spanish Fork. We want to create, yes, new rodeo fans, yes, cowgirls and cowboys and a nod to our heritage, but we also want to have avid readers in our community.
00:16:38
Speaker
And without a doubt, you guys are doing an incredible job to shape the future. I couldn't be more thankful to be a part of hearing your story. Even that makes me want to get involved in help any way I can. So keep doing what you're doing. That's so encouraging. I hope to make it out to Spanish fork one day. Um, unfortunately that's one of the rodeos I have never hit on the rodeo trail, but I see it in the future happening. I know you guys have a lot of big things coming up this week and speaking about that, let's kind of move on into the history of the Spanish fork.
00:17:05
Speaker
Fiesta days rodeo. It's more than just a rodeo. There's the Fiesta days. You have a lot going on. So kind of give us the rundown rundown on that.
00:17:14
Speaker
Yeah, this is our city's celebration. Most communities in the United States have what you might call a celebration week in the summer, right?
Highlighting the Rodeo at Fiesta Days
00:17:21
Speaker
Sometimes it's around a birthday celebration of the community. But this is our city, the name Spanish Fork. And Fiesta Days, of course, plays hand in glove. And it's a party around town. And through the years, our Fiesta Days celebration has evolved into a homecoming.
00:17:39
Speaker
And our community has a rich heritage of its residents and they come from wherever they live back home. And so we see tens of thousands of family members come home and our parade is watched by 50,000, 75,000 plus. And there's lots of family reunions and different family gatherings associated with it. So it's a great homecoming in the month of July and ours is surrounding our state holiday that lands on the 24th of July.
00:18:10
Speaker
So there's stuff everywhere all across town. And then, of course, nightly, the rodeo is kind of a capstone event each each and every night. And we sell out, as Nick said, 72 performances. I think we're I think we're going on almost 15 straight years selling out every performance.
00:18:29
Speaker
and this week this week is no exception yeah yeah oh not at all and so we haven't had the performances yet but i think in the next five days we'll go from 72 to 77 right that's right yes and you have a good thing going for you there i think that's what's the most important thing and it's so incredible but i want to talk a little bit more about the 81st annual fiesta days rodeo presented by mountain view hospital we got to get that plug um uh tell us about everything everything that we can expect at the rodeo i know you have the regular events but
00:18:59
Speaker
Anything fun? Anything we should look out for? I think there's so much. So a couple of highlights that I'll hit on and Seth has a few as well.
00:19:08
Speaker
Again, Frontier Rodeo, our stock contractor, the PRCA stock contractor of the year for the last few years, is the Fiesta Day stock contractor. And we're so grateful to have really the best livestock and the best that side of each event being provided by them. Our Rodeo clown, JJ Harrison, is back, popular. He's been in Spanish work many years. And we're excited to have him back again this year.
00:19:35
Speaker
And just five nights of a fantastic rodeo will kick off things Wednesday, you know, the 19th with our Patriot night. And then reading challenge winner is tough enough to wear pink night, extreme bowls, and it'll all finish up championship night on July 24th.
00:19:55
Speaker
And it's got the feeling of an NFR when you come into our event, because the stands are really enclosed until you've got to come. You have got to get this on your list, and this definitely isn't like a bucket list later
Attracting Top Competitors & Community Support
00:20:10
Speaker
in life. You got to come soon. Bring your niece. But when you get into the arena, it's enclosed on all sides, 8,500 fans, and they're loud.
00:20:23
Speaker
And when a great when a great ride happens when when you get a fast time and all of those just the energy inside of that arena is really intense and what's special about our event is we've got.
00:20:37
Speaker
rodeo fans of all ages and they stay through the whole night and the energy feeds off of itself. So you've got 80-year-olds that are cheering loudly sitting next to maybe their great-grandchildren that's eight years old and they're cheering loudly and all the while they're talking about who their favorite cowboy was in their fastest time. So the energy inside that arena really is special and like I said it feels like the NFR because if you're in Vegas
00:21:06
Speaker
That arena is closed and it's sold out as well. And you see just those past times. So it's really one of the best rodeos outside of Vegas, certainly this time of year. And you guys have beautiful scenery too, I must add. So that's, that's a beautiful part of it too. And kind of piggybacking off of you, Nick, along with a good stock contractor comes good stock and with good stock comes good rodeo competitors. And there's no doubt that there's going to be a lot of good competitors this week. The lineup is.
00:21:32
Speaker
phenomenal but what's it like for you guys being the locals having people come from all across the united states to compete in the rodeo as part of their job you know it's an important part of their earnings but they added they add spanish fork to their list as one that they have to go to and want to go to we we love having a big draw throughout the country and
00:21:53
Speaker
The PSAs rodeo is actually one of three rodeos just in Utah that same weekend. So we play off of Ogden's rodeo, the Pioneer, the Days of 47 rodeo in Salt Lake.
Gratitude for Community & National Support
00:22:05
Speaker
And so it's a chance for these cowboys and cowgirls to compete in our rodeo, but also it will play off
00:22:12
Speaker
The other rodeos as well. And, and we think that that because of that. We're able to have a fantastic rodeo because they're able to come out and perform in three different events or three different rodeos over the same week. And I think as a community, we love to see the swell that happens with all these Cowboys over 700 Cowboys and cowgirls come into the community over the course of these five days.
00:22:36
Speaker
A lot of trucks and trailers, right, and a lot of action and if you go to any of the restaurants in town or any of the stores on Main Street or around town you'll see a bunch of these cowboys and cowgirls and
00:22:48
Speaker
And I think our fans, our community welcomes them in as if they were family. And you almost can't tell who the Cowboys are because everybody's part and parcel of what they're doing dressed up in their rodeo gear. And the whole community just embraces it because it is a part of really the fabric of Spanish work now.
00:23:12
Speaker
Yes, you guys, I can tell by just talking to you that you are a family, even though you work together every day, it just shows that your community is full of love and full of fun activities. And this summer is no exception as well. So I cannot speak more praises about you guys, and especially the reading challenge. That is an incredible thing you guys have going. We are proud to support it. We will support it forever and ever, as long as we can. And we just want to say thank you for everything that you're doing. And thank you guys both for taking the time in this busy week with everything you have going on.
00:23:41
Speaker
To just talk to us a little bit about all things Spanish for yesterday's the reading challenge and your city itself, so I wish you the best down the rodeo road and we'll stay in touch.
00:23:52
Speaker
We know it is a busy week, but there really is nothing more important, I think, for us at this moment to take this time and say thank you to you. Your support of Spanish Fork, the Fiesta Days Reading Challenge, and our rodeo, we really are grateful for Justin Boots, the role that you have played in the success of our rodeo and in the success of this reading program. And so at this moment, nothing more important than saying thank you to you.
00:24:17
Speaker
Well, thank you guys, we appreciate it. Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.