Press
Cowboys are 'Tough Enough to Wear Pink'
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
By JaNae Francis
Standard-Examiner staff
jfrancis@standard.net
OGDEN -- The Ogden Pioneer Days celebration will join rodeo contestants
and fans throughout the country who are donning pink for a good cause.
"Tough Enough to Wear Pink" is an initiative sponsored by Wrangler as a 2006 fundraising effort for breast cancer research. When it kicked off Dec. 9 during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, many of the 18,000 there wore pink.
Fans and contestants have made similar showings of support at other professional rodeos this year.
Now, Ogden Pioneer Days organizers hope to have a comparable response when the rodeo comes to town July 19-24.
A July 21 performance will be dedicated to the effort, and rodeo organizers will donate $1 to a local cancer facility for each person who comes to the rodeo wearing pink.
Wynn Covieo, chairman of the Ogden Pioneer Days committee, said it would be great if every spectator wore pink.
"We are planning a contest with a cash prize for the best pink outfit," Covieo said.
Cooper-Larsen said she can't think of a more appropriate sport to support cancer research than rodeo.
"Rodeo is a family-oriented sport, and we all can relate to someone in our family that has been affected by breast cancer," she said.
The July 21 rodeo will be dedicated to the memory of Tanna Gibson, an Ogden woman who recently died of breast cancer. She owned the Style Street beauty salon, formerly at Historic 25th Street and Grant Avenue.
"I just think it is a great honor to see her honored this way,"
said Gibson's husband, Brent. "She was a great wife and companion."
The Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign focuses on raising money in two ways,
according to a news release.
Participating manufacturers are donating proceeds from new products to support the cause, and local Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned rodeos are sponsoring Tough Enough to Wear Pink performances.
Among the products available to support the cause are Wrangler's pink shirts and jewelry, Justin's pink boots, Resistol's pink hat stickers and Professional Choice's pink saddle pads.
At the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, brand sponsors, including those with Tough Enough to Wear Pink merchandise, as well as Coors, Dodge, Jack Daniel's, Las Vegas Events, Montana Silversmiths and the PRCA, also made monetary donations for each winning performance.
Pioneer Days officials hope local and national sponsors will make similar contributions.
Tough Enough to Wear Pink was developed by Terry Wheatley, a breast cancer survivor, and Karl Stressman, director of special events for Wrangler.
"We weren't sure if we could convince the cowboys to wear pink but, yes," Wheatley said, "they proved they are tough enough."
