For More Information:
Mike Hausmann
Media Coordinator
National High School Rodeo Association
1-800-466-4772
mike@nhsra.org

January 27, 2006

New Wrangler Division Coordinator
Has Big Plans for Growing Program

Denver , Colorado – The National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) is pleased to announce the hiring of Katie Hollingsworth as the association’s new Wrangler Division Coordinator. Created in 2004, the Wrangler Division supports and promotes the sport of rodeo to junior high students. The premier Wrangler Junior High Finals Rodeo was held in July 2005 in Gallup, New Mexico. Athletes competed for a variety of prizes, awards, and over $52,000 in scholarship funds. A total of 609 students from thirty U.S. states and Canadian provinces participated in the inaugural event, with approximately 1,000 contestants expected to compete in Gallup, July 10-15, 2006. In addition, eleven new states and provinces have joined the Division and will participate in activities this year.

A former member of the NHSRA, Hollingsworth comes to the association from the Greeley Convention and Visitors Bureau in Greeley, Colorado, where she served as its Visitors Services Director. There, she bid out conventions and serviced the groups once they had arrived in town. She graduated from Colorado State University in 2002 and now hopes to bring the Division a means to continue the solid foundation that has already been laid.

“I got my Journalism and Public Relations degree and my goal was to work in the western and agricultural fields and continue on with the family tradition.” she says. I want to be able to continue the great reputation that has been started in the Wrangler Division. In particular, I want to enhance the Finals with local and national sponsors and create more knowledge within the western community about the program itself. I’m really excited.”

“We’re positive that Katie will do a tremendous job here at the association,” says Kent Sturman, Executive Director of the NHSRA. “She brings a wealth of marketing experience to the position and her background in high school rodeo and the western lifestyle make her the perfect fit for us.”

The NHSRA is one of the fastest growing youth organizations in the nation, with an annual membership of over 10,500 students from 40 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia. The Association sanctions over 1,100 rodeos each year. The NHSRA is governed by a national board of directors, which consists of one member from each state or province. A staff at the national headquarters in Denver, Colorado, handles the day-to-day operations.

-30-