Guys and Gals:
I hope that you are safe and warm in the midst of this record snowfall! I wanted to pen a short note to keep you abreast of some important business. Since my last letter:

• We've successfully negotiated a 2 year contract with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, D Street and New Jersey Avenue, NW. We have the option to extend an additional year as well. Special thanks go to JR Key who piloted the contract through to completion.
• We've renegotiated the rodeo for our standard weekend (the first after Labor Day) at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. There were modest increases in two areas, but overall, we've got just about the same deal as last year. Special thanks to Billy Collison, our 2003 Rodeo Director, and Mike Lentz, our Trustee for seeing this through.
• We've selected our Stock Contractor for Atlantic Stampede 2003. We're excited to have Carl Leach, last year's contractor, back with us again this year. We are also planning for at least one Rough Stock School-tentatively scheduled for early May. Again, thanks to Billy and Mike.
• TGRA has asked permission to reschedule their rodeo from November to our weekend. Since Officials-especially Judges-will be in high demand, we've already identified key positions and have secured commitments from Judges Thom Sloan and Dee Zuspan. Offers have been extended for the remaining Judges and we hope to have them nailed down by mid-March.
• ASGRA has again offered its assistance to IGRA to provide critical support for the upcoming New York Gay and Lesbian Exposition in March. The IGRA booth has been quite a hit the past two years, and we're hoping that three will be the charm for an even better turnout this year.
• Saving the most important point for last, I want to remind each of you of the upcoming By-Laws meeting on March 30th. All eligible members will shortly receive the proposed By-Laws changes in the mail. The mailing will include a ballot and instructions. Please take time to read the proposed changes and, most importantly, to cast your vote! Remember to sign the back flap of the envelope to validate your ballot. It is crucial to the Association's continued growth that we make a few changes in the way we conduct business. Please make every effort to show your support for ASGRA by active participation in this year's By-Laws process-whether by mail or in person!

The Membership Corner

Just a few things this month folks!

First, thanks to all of you that came out to the benefits for the FDNY the last weekend of February. Your presence, help and contributions meant a lot to the fire fighters and to us. Thanks also to the ASGRA and IGRA people that shared their talents with our community.

Second, thank you to all that attended the February General Membership meeting. While attendance remains low at membership meetings, those of you that do come out and share your time and opinions are greatly appreciated, as we know how important your time is.

Third, included in this issue is a pullout schedule for all the IGRA and ASGRA events for the remainder of the 2003 Rodeo year. I encourage you to post this in a prominent place to keep you updated on important dates thru November 2003.

IMPORTANT MEETING AND A CHANGE
The March General Membership Meeting that was originally scheduled for Sunday March 23 has been rescheduled for Sunday the 30th. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual Bylaws Meeting. This meeting is very important to how we do business within our Association. Please make every effort to attend. And if you can't attend, please send your ballots back in by the deadline, so your voice can be heard. (MAKE SURE YOU SIGN AND WRITE YOUR MEMBERSHIP # ON THE BACK OF THE ENVELOPE!)

And last, as your membership chair, I serve as your liaison to the board. If you have issues, concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to bring them to my attention. I can be reached by email at join@asgra.org or by phone at the number listed in the sidebar of the newsletter.

Mike Sanders, Membership Chair

Keeping Country Dance Alive In Baltimore!
Two-step and Country Waltz Dance Lessons with Instructor Mary Anne, Waxter Center, Cathedral and Eager St.
Classes on Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30
$5 per lesson, $50 for all twelve classes

March 6: Two-Step
March 20: Waltz
March 27: Waltz
April 3: Waltz
April 17: Waltz
May 8: Waltz
May 22: Waltz
June 19: Graduation Party

Howdy Gang, just got back from the annual IGRA University. It was a great informative time with seminars on Rodeo Director, Royalty, Fundraising and Sponsorship information, along with a think-tank of ideas. More information to come! If you are interested in helping out at the rodeo, please contact me, Mike Lentz, or Diane Mejia (Volunteer Coordinator). Our newest Coordinator that has stepped up to the plate is Bruce Forchheimer for the position of Vendor Coordinator. Let's keep the communication coming!

Billy Collison, Atlantic Stampede 2003 Rodeo Director

News 'Round the Corral

Remember, ASGRA trail rides are the first Sunday of the month at 11:00am!
Weather permitting, we will be holding a trail ride at Piscataway Ranch in Clinton, MD at 11:00 am on the following days:
March 3rd: March into spring with an invigorating lope through the countryside!
April 6th: Recover from April Fools Day with a relaxing ride through the early spring woodlands!

For further information and to RSVP, contact Glenn. (see our contacts page)

A Reminder to IGRA CONTESTANTS: It is your responsibility to keep IGRA informed of address, phone, and email changes. You can update your information with them at http://www.igra.com/address.html

Cowtown Rodeo 2003 TGRA Fort Worth, TX March 28-30, 2003
Bighorn Rodeo 2003 NGRA Las Vegas, NV April 4-5, 2003
L.A. Rodeo 2003 GSGRA Los Angeles, CA April 11-13, 2003
Rodeo in the Rock 2003 DSRA Little Rock, AK April 25-27, 2003
Great Plains Rodeo 2003 OGRA Oklahoma City, OK May 23-25, 2003
Salt Lake City Rodeo 2003 UGRA Salt Lake City, UT June 13-15, 2003

Newsletter Editor: Lonni La Bel 11422 Waterbury Way Germantown, MD 20876
IGRA Trustee: Michael Lentz 4602 Coachway Drive North Bethesda, MD 20852
Rodeo Director 2003: Billy Collison 18600 Walkers Choice Rd. #5 Gaithersburg, MD 20886-0539
BHT Representative 2002: TBD
CAB Representative 2002: TBD
Mr. ASGRA 2003: John Alvey 2298 17th St., NW Apt. #7 Washington, DC 20009
Miss ASGRA 2003: Miss Courtney Lovelace (Sam Marsh) 2298 17th St., NW Apt. #7 Washington, DC 20009

President: Gaither Pennington 133 Tull Place Alexandria, VA 22304
Vice President: Jason Hays 518 C St NE Washington, DC 20002
Secretary/Web Master: Frank Harrell 12905 Clifton Creek Dr. Clifton, VA 20124
Treasurer: Scott Smiley 21 Welbeck Ct. Montgomery Village, MD 20886 Membership: Michael Sanders 7401 Eastmoreland Rd. #228 Annandale, VA 22003
Fundraising & Sponsorship Mark Baker 1437 Rhode Island Ave., NW #403 Washington, DC 20005 Public Relations: Rob McGuire 18 9th St., NE Apt. #401 Washington, DC 20002
Rodeo Events & Training: TBD
Social & Entertainment: JR Key 1317 Rhode Island Ave. NW #103 Washington, DC 20005

Posse Roundup

Looking for a few good ASGRA Reps for BHT and CAB!

Brother Help Thyself (BHT) is the nation's first united gay and lesbian fund for health, cultural and social service organizations. BHT raises money throughout the year through fundraisers, donations via United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign and other activities. They meet every second Wednesday of the month on the 3rd floor of the DC Eagle and we need an ASGRA presence.

ASGRA is also a part of CAB (Capital Area Board), an organization in Washington, DC that develops and promotes the leather community in all its diversity through a coordination of activities, interactions, relationships and brotherhood among gay back patch clubs and like-minded organizations. We are looking for more members interested in sitting on the CAB board to help have an ASGRA presence with the community. CAB meets once a month and on the third Wednesday on the DC Eagle's 3rd floor.

If you are interested in representing ASGRA on the BHT board or with CAB, please contact Gaither Pennington or Billy Collison.

CELEBRATING 10 SPECTACULAR YEARS AS AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL GLBT EVENT!

Saturday, March 22,2003: 11am-7pm	Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Sunday, March 23,2003: 12noon-6pm	38th & 11th Aves | New York City

2003 is the 10th Anniversary of this incredible event. This is a huge milestone for the GLBT Community, the loyal sponsors/exhibitors/attendees that support the EXPO and the dedicated staff at The RDP Group.

ASGRA has been a participant and the IGRA Representative group to this event for the past 2 years. It's a wonderful opportunity to network with the GLBT community and to showcase all that is exciting about gay rodeo, ASGRA/IGRA and the County-Western lifestyle. For more info and pictures from last year's expo check out their website: http://www.rdpgroup.com/glexpo/welcome.htm
ASGRA plans to send another posse up to NYC for the EXPO this year. Contact Social & Entertainment Chair J.R. Key to get involved!

Print out the remainder of the 2003 schedule of ASGRA and IGRA sponsored events.
Please Post - ASGRA events are in BOLD (PDF file)

In an agreement with IGRA sponsor Instinct Magazine, ASGRA will receive $5 for every subscription from an ASGRA member. Enjoy a great magazine and support ASGRA by using the enclosed form to subscribe.

Starting Wednesday, February 19th, John and Courtney, Mr. and Miss ASGRA, will be selling the Bingo cards at Windows (aka Dupont Italian Kitchen). All proceeds from the card sales will be donated to ASGRA. The fun starts at 9:00 p.m. with Terrie Santana as hostess. Please stop in to support ASGRA while enjoying a fun and furious game with the 17th Street crowd!

April 2003 issue: Submissions due: 3/17/03, Mail out date: 3/24/03

March 2003
2 11:00am Trail Ride at Piscataway stables, Clinton, MD
12 8:00pm BHT Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC
13 7:30pm ASGRA Board Meeting; Capital Hilton
19 8:00pm CAB Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC
30 4:00pm General Membership and Bylaws Meeting; Hyatt Regency Hotel; Washington, DC

$Money $Matters

Many people have been asking about the financial state of the Association. In an effort to try and keep the membership informed, I will write a column on a quarterly basis to keep you abreast of the financial health of the Association.

The books have been closed for 2002. I am happy to report that ASGRA's income exceeded its expenses by $21,922. The vast majority of this income was generated from Atlantic Stampede 2002. Membership was a distant second, but was also contributed to this figure.

At its December meeting, the Board took steps to ensure the continued financial health of the Association by establishing a Reserve Fund. This goal of this fund is to build and maintain one year's operating expenditures in reserve. This goal will take time to achieve, but the Board took the first step by committing $6,000 to the fund. Because the success of the Association is currently dependent on the success of Atlantic Stampede and Stampede's success is largely dependent on the weather, it is imperative that we keep and maintain such a fund to shield the Association from financial hardship.

The membership voted overwhelmingly to approve the 2003 budget at the January general membership meeting. The budget included income and expenditures for a variety of program areas including Membership, Atlantic Stampede, Hoedown and Dance Competitions. Thanks to everyone who cast a ballot and participated in this important part of association business.
Scott Smiley, Treasurer

ASGRA goes to School
What do you get when you mix a gospel choir, worm farmers and gay cowboys/cowgirls? That's right. You get IGRA University in St. Louis, MO. The host hotel for IGRA University was the gathering place for all these groups this year.

Anheuser-Busch Learning Center hosted @ 90 members of IGRA for the 4th annual IGRA University. With 13 classes ranging from "The Changing Face of IGRA" to a day and a half intensive for Royalty, all in attendance walked away with a little more knowledge of how rodeos and our associations work.

The learning didn't stop when classes were finished. Some of us had the opportunity to learn a little bit about farming worms (no, that's not a typo), as well as teach the farmers a little about gay rodeo.

And Speaking of Rodeos

Stampede 2003 September 5 - 7, 2003
Gay Rodeo and country western enthusiasts from California to Calgary, from NYC to NC all know the only place to be Sept 5-7 is in Washington, DC, for two days and three nights of cowboys, cowgirls, competition and dancing. ASGRA has earned a reputation as one of the best rodeo entertainment weekends on the IGRA circuit. With several new improvements to our arena and rodeo grounds venue, praised by contestants and fans alike, followed each night by the largest and best evening dance/entertainment events, Atlantic Stampede continues our tradition in 2003 to provide the highest quality all-around line-up of rodeo entertainment. Start making plans now to be in DC this fall.

Check our website frequently (www.asgra.org), as new information and details are posted regularly. Tickets for this event will be available on-line beginning in June 2003.

Hoedown on the Harbor 2003
Saturday June 14th, 2003
Baltimore Museum of Industry
Ticket prices: $15 advance/$20 door
(Price includes entrance to the dance competitions AND Hoedown)

Spend the day enjoying Baltimore's Gay Pride Festival; then spend the hot summer night where the Cowboys and Cowgirls play, at the Hoedown on the Harbor. We'll be boot-scootin' all night under an open-air pavilion down on the waterfront of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Come early for the ASGRA couples and line dance competitions (6pm - 8pm) and stay late dancing the night away (8pm - 2am). We'll provide plenty of food, drinks, good music, and a special guest performance … add in a cool breeze, the harbor lights … and all we need is you to complete the mix for the area's best country western dance party of the summer. Tickets for this event will be available for purchase online and at local Lambda Rising bookstores beginning in April, 2003. Check our website for more details as they become available at www.asgra.org.

After a day of celebration at the Baltimore's Gay Pride Festival, join us as we kick-off the area's best country-western dance event of the summer with the ASGRA Couples Dance and Line Dance Competition. Whether you would like to join in the competion or just enjoy watching the show, it's an exciting way to start an evening of dancing. An IGRA sanctioned dance competition, the overall winners for this competition will be invited to represent ASGRA at the IGRA international dance competition finals in July, 2003.

You may register for competition online (www.asgra.org) or via mail beginning in February, 2003. In addition, on-the-spot registration will be available for the Line Dance competition for anyone with an urge to kick up their heels and show their stuff for the crowd.

After the heat of dance competition, cool off outdoors at the open-air pavilion and join us for food, drinks, and dancing the night away at Hoedown on the Harbor.

Formerly, an event that drew some of the finest dance teams from across the US and Canada, ASGRA will once again host the Atlantic Coast Open Team Dance Competition as one of the highlights of the Atlantic Stampede 2003 rodeo weekend. Whether you are a dance team ready to capture the crowd with your performance or a dance fan eager to be a part of some of the most thrilling entertainment country western dance has to offer, join the thousands of cowboys and cowgirls who will be in town for Atlantic Stampede, and start your evening, Sat. Sept 6, by being part of this spectacle that is not be missed. Information and registration for this event will be available online (www.asgra.org) in February 2003.
J.R. Key, S&E Chair

Web World

Howdy Guys and Gals,
Hoedown is on track and we have a page on our website with basic information and directions. We will be expanding this page as we get closer to the dance date. Along with Hoedown, ASGRA will be sponsoring several dance competitions. The web pages describing the dance competitions are just about ready and should be available within a week or two. These will include online applications and rules for our Couples and Line Dance competitions, along with PDF versions of the judges' application and Team Dance entry forms. Tickets for Hoedown will be available for purchase online beginning in April.

The 2003 Stampede section of our website is growing steadily. We have already posted the 2003 IGRA rules, contestant application, and the names of several rodeo officials who have agreed to judge our next rodeo. Check the site frequently and look for the little "New" and "Updated" icons for pages that have recently been added or updated.

As soon as the new Bylaw proposals are ready, they will be available for review on the website in addition to being mailed to all the membership. And of course, check the calendar pages for meetings and other events.

Our website was quite popular last year. For those who may be interested in some numbers:

The site received 65,703 visits in 2002.
What is a visit? Here's an example. If you visit the ASGRA web site this morning and view 10 pages, that is one visit. If you come back this afternoon, that makes a second visit.

The website had 1,909,240 accesses.
An access is any single file being retrieved a single time. This number is sometimes referred to as "hits", partly because it's a more impressive number than the visits figure. The term "hits" is so often used in different ways by different people that its meaning has become a bit fuzzy. Of course we don't have that many individual files on our website (the actual number as of this writing is 6,078) but many files are accessed many times.

Frequently when the owner of a website wants to make his or her traffic sound more impressive, he/she will use the fuzzy term "hits". For example, today, if you open the ASGRA main page one time, you are actually placing 21 hits on the site. The page itself, several JavaScripts, the background image, the ASGRA logo in the upper left corner, a style sheet that controls the overall look of the page, each of the sponsor logos near the bottom, several other files that make various things work, and even the little cowboy hat in the lower left corner that lets you know that yours truly is responsible for the site.

Top documents:
The main page was opened 30,177 times.
The Stampede 2002 index page, 9,870 times.
Gallery index page, 8,446 times.
Events index (with the videos of the events) 2,541 times.
The most popular gallery image (see photo)
637 times (I wonder why?)

Top referring sites (e.g. other websites that have links to our site):
5,822 referrals from Google
2,292 from IGRA's website
2,434 from Yahoo
1,043 from personal websites of AOL members

Top key search words:
Gay rodeo: 744
Cowgirl pictures: 629
Asgra: 617
Pole bending: 386
Dolly Madison: 138 (I bet they were surprised!)

How on earth do I know all of this? The information comes from the "web server logs" Ever see a link on a website that says "Privacy policy"? Next month: a little about privacy on the internet.
Frank Harrell, ASGRA Webmaster