Cowboy Poets of Utah

Newsletter - SPECIAL EDITION FOR ELECTIONS!!!

August/September  2006

CPU Board:  Curly Syndergaard,  Don Kennington, Terri Taylor,

Presidency:  Sam DeLeeuw, Val Carter, Jo Lynne Kirkwood, Rod Miller

Newsletter distributed five times annually.  PLUS SPECIAL EDITIONS!   

For information or suggestions, contact Jo at (435)896-1856 or jolynne.kirkwood@sevier.k12.ut..us / jo@seviervalleyroundup.com

     Elections and Party! 
 

CPU will meet and count ballots to determine our new officers at Willow Creek Park, which is  8400 So. 20th E. in Sandy at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 9^th.  This is a business meeting but members are invited to attend to help with election results.  We’ll follow up with a poetry share/jam, if folks are interested.  It will be on the lawn under a tree so you might want to bring chairs.   
 

That same day WMA is holding their annual Utah Chapter party at the home of Creek and Lenore Johnson...8585 Scottish Dr. (3205 E.) (Sandy) and ALL CPU MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.  Creek says the grill will be hot at 5:00.  WMA is providing meat, drinks, utensils and they are asking everyone to bring a side dish and/or dessert to share.  There will be jam afterwards for everyone to participate in and Creek has invited his neighbors to be there for the jam so let's all get there and show their neighbors what cool friends Creek and Lenore have!

YOU NEED TO RSVP either Lu Middleton at 801-731-4645 wmanut@aol.com or Creek at 801-910-2292 creekjohnson2002@yahoo.com in advance.  Families are invited so come and have a good time and hang out with friends, eat some good food and get entertained...you never know WHAT you're going to hear!

A note from Val…

I would like to thank Sam Deleeuw for the wonderful job she has done as CPU President! The only reason I believe she’s being replaced is because the by-laws say she has to take a break. Sam has done a lot for Cowboy Poetry in Utah and for the Cowboy Poets of Utah.

We need to keep the momentum of the Cowboy Poets of Utah going. We even have the support of the Utah State Governor behind us. We have many well-established annual gatherings throughout the state that continue to bring attention to cowboy poetry and music, which the Cowboy Poets of Utah support. Often I hear someone mention that they have heard a great cowboy poet perform here or there, and ask if I know them. Many times I am able to say Yes! I do! - they are members of the Cowboy Poets of Utah!

At our CPU meeting on September 9th we will be electing new officers. I hope everyone has taken the opportunity to mark their ballots. There were many great nominees this year, all of them capable, as our mission statement says, “of perpetuating the cultural traditions of poetry, storytelling, music, and other folk arts of the American West and the cowboy life.” 

I hope everyone continues to encourage and support this wonderful tradition of poetry and music. Continue to spread the word -- we have had several new members join this year and hope to see this organization grow both in numbers and in artistic quality.

Thank you for letting me share this friendship with you.  I have enjoyed this last year serving as your Vice-President.  I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the next CPU meeting on the 9th.

What a great organization!

Val Carter, Vice President CPU

And, a note from Jo…

I too want to thank Sam for all the work she has done for CPU over the years since we first organized.  I KNOW she’ll still play an active role, but now she’ll pass the mantle of presidency on to someone new.  And the fact that we have such a great showing of candidates for this year’s election proves how much CPU has grown under her leadership.  Those of us who have been part of the group since its early days remember when she graciously accepted both chairmanship of the board AND presidency because there just wasn’t anyone else to take the job!  Now our membership is strong, and active.  We’ve come a long way, thanks to everyone.  Keep it up, gang.  I’m mighty proud to be part of this group. 
 

CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS!  (Sort of.)

We’ve had some great events this summer, and many of our CPU members have participated.  CR directed an excellent show in Sevier County in June, many of us showed up to be part of the celebration for National Day of the Cowboy or our patriotic holidays, Prescott hosted a whole contingency of Utah poets,  and Don K., Phil K. and  Colen Sweeten all performed on evening shows at Kanab – where Sam DeLeeuw walked away with ALL the buckles (just about!)  And CPU showed up on the music stages too – Kenny Hall and Latigo (Ken Stevens) did us PROUD! 

One significant event from Kanab I really need to mention is the honor given to our own Doug Keller.  In a special tribute ceremony, Doug was named Kane County’s Poet Laureate.  Way to go, Doug!  It’s an honor well-deserved, and we ARE PROUD of you!

Margo Metegrano was at the event, as usual, and CPU took the opportunity to express our gratitude for the service she has done for us, both as a group and for so many of our individual poets.  With a donation from the group, CPU became a supporting sponsor of the Center for Western Poetry

Plus, we’ve all had our own agenda of performances we ought to share with the group.  PLEASE draft a quick review, memory, outline of where you’ve been and what you’ve done, and send it to the newsletter!  We’d love to brag about our members!   - Jo 
 

(email to:  jolynne.kirkwood@sevier.k12.ut.us OR land mail to:   Jo Lynne Kirkwood P.O. Box 570207 – Sigurd, Utah  84657 
 

Clear Out West Radio Show 
 

Just on the off (very slight) chance that some of our members aren’t aware of the cultural programming available on the air, Andy Nelson and big brother Jim are the creative energy (and “BS”) behind the COWboys, Clear Out West radio from Pinedale, Wyoming.  Some area stations that play their show (it’s at 11:00 AM Saturday, here in Sevier County) are:

KPIN-FM, Pinedale WY;

KYDT-FM, Sundance WY;

KBFS-AM, Belle Fourche SD;

KDWY-FM, Kemmerer WY;

KEVA-AM Evanston WY;

KOVE-AM, Lander WY;

KJAX-FM Jackson Hole WY;

KNEU-AM, Roosevelt UT;

KSVC-AM Richfield UT;

KTWO-AM Casper WY;

KDSS-FM, Ely NV;

KBAR-AM Burley ID;

KTMP-AM Heber City UT;

KPOW-AM Powell WY;

KELK-AM Elko NV;

KBBS-AM Buffalo WY;  And if you can’t find a station on the list that you can tune in to, they’re also available on line, at www.clearoutwest.com 
 

Andy and Jim, along with providing great advice and good humor, also frequently play music and poetry recorded by CPU member and our friends.  If you haven’t already been doing so on a regular basis (or even if you HAVE,) find out when they show plays in your area, or go on live and learn about life from the COWboys’ point of view! 

Don Kennington, everyone’s brother, dad, grandpa and best friend, will also be leaving his spot as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for CPU. We surely do want to thank Don for all his great advice, help, and goodwill over the term of his office.  We’ll still see him around, and rely on him as much as we always have, but we can’t let him leave office without telling him WE LOVE YOU, DON!   Thanks for being the great man you are. 

StanTixier is once again deep in the process of trying to  help our Miss Rodeo Utah by creating a fundraising event.  If you’d like to help Stan with this project, give him a call or drop a line.   edenutstix@netutah.net      

Stan Tixier, 5538 East 2300 North

Eden, Utah  84310

801-745-4121

edenutstix@netutah.net 
 

Plans are in FULL SWING for the

"UTAH HIGH COUNTRY GATHERING" 

This is Bill Gubler’s event in Park City on October 21^st.  Lu Middleton, from the Utah Chapter of the WMA is coordinating events for the day, and we’re looking forward to a great fund raiser.  For more information, contact Bill at wildbill_gubler@hotmail.com  or 801-254-5775, or Lu at (wmanut@aol.com or 801-731-4645. 

More info here

Val has asked that everyone please send a bio, photo, contact info. etc. for the web site.  It’s a great way to let folks know who we are!  Also, be sure to drop by regularly and see what we’re up to!  Remember, the group is ONLY as good as its membership.  Let’s all work to make our CPU organization as fantastic as it should be. The site is www.cowboypoetsofutah.org/  Drop by! 
 

ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC NEWS!  After a series of “On again, off again” memos,

MOAB  WESTERN STARS

IS ON AGAIN! 

The event has a new director, who is eager to put together a quality event.  I know I’ll be speaking for the group when I tell her how happy I am that this very delightful winter festival will survive!  I’ll be sending out more news as it comes to me, but as of NOW, count on MOAB WESTERN STARS for Presidents Day Weekend! 
www.moabwesternstars.com

Points to Ponder – 
 

Prescott is a great event for Poets, and one of the highlights for me this August was the workshop I attended conducted by Dave Stamey.  I guess everybody already KNOWS Dave is high on my list both for great writing and incredible music, and to be able to meet with him in a small group setting was an honor and a real treat.  Plus, he had plenty of good advice to offer!  The session was intended to focus on performance techniques, and I’ve listed some of Dave’s suggestions here. 
 

-Time your material.  KNOW how long each (song) poem takes to perform.  DON’T go overtime.  It’s better to use fourteen minutes (in a fifteen minute set) than to infringe on someone else’s time. 
 

- Plan your set-up.  If a poem takes four minutes, but we take three minutes to set it up, we’ve already taken up half our time with one poem.   
 

- Thank everyone.  Thank the sponsors, the sound guys, the other performers, the volunteers, EVERYONE.  No event works without a lot of underpaid or unpaid work from a lot of people.  Let them know we appreciate their efforts! 
 

- Read your audience.  If you slay them with a great poem, get off the stage – unless you KNOW your next one is even better.  LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE!!! 
 

- Vary your routine.  Break it up.  Unless you’re in a set that DEMANDS comedy (etc.,) alternate humorous with serious.   
 

- Practice.  Practice.  Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, video yourself, make your friends and family listen, watch, and critique.  Nothing helps a performance more than being prepared.   
 

And perhaps most importantly, KEEP YOUR CAPO on your guitar, and make sure you have extra strings!  For poets, that means have some back-up.  Forget a line?  Have a copy, or have an alternate poem you make move to quickly.  In fact, KEEP the poems you know BEST for a safety net.   

Cowboy Poets of Utah

c/o Jo Lynne Kirkwood

PO Box 570207

Sigurd, Utah  84657