Tina Tonascia, the chief operations officer for Elks Recreation Inc., had a big announcement about the 74th Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo at a Jan. 25 press conference. The rodeo is now a scheduled stop on the 2017 Champions Challenge Tour—which will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
“The board of directors has a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to make sure that we capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Tonascia said at the press conference. “And our hope is if we do well, they’ll keep coming back.”
The Elks secured the rodeo’s spot on the Champions Challenge Tour in December when the Elks Recreation board of directors attended the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) National Convention. The tour consists of the PRCA’s best contestants competing on the sport’s best stock.
In addition, the rodeo performances will stream live on wranglernetwork.com, reaching rodeo fans nationwide—a level of exposure unsurpassed in the history of the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo.
“The economic impact of what’s going to happen over the next few months is immeasurable at this point,” Tonascia said. “The sky is the limit on how we can take this opportunity as a community.”
The amount of coverage could mean a boost for Santa Maria businesses, hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets, Tonascia added.
“This is a great opportunity that our small businesses don’t normally get, which is to meet their national sponsors face-to-face,” said Johnna Clark, Elks’ Rodeo marketing representative. “For all of those national sponsors to converge at one time is a tremendous opportunity all around because it gives us the chance to really showcase our community.”
The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo will be held June 1 through June 4 this year, and the parade is scheduled for June 3 at 9 a.m. The community can participate in the festivities leading up to the rodeo including the Beard-A-Reno and the Miss Wrangler contests.
“It’s not just our rodeo, it’s the community’s rodeo,” Tonascia said. “And that’s the one thing this board of directors has had on their minds from day one—that this is everybody’s rodeo.”
For more information on the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade, call 925-4125 or visit elksrec.com. The Rodeo Office is located at 1309 N. Bradley Road, Santa Maria.
Highlights
• The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce (SMVCC) announced Suzanne Singh as the new economic development director. Singh previously served as president for the Rancho Santa Margarita Chamber of Commerce.
“The chamber takes seriously its role as the lead agency for economic development,” said Glenn Morris, president and CEO of SMVCC, in a press release. “We are confident that Suzanne’s background, enthusiasm, and skill set are the right combination we need at this time.”
Singh is open to meeting with anyone regarding economic development, business development, or other concerns and ideas, she said in the release.
“The more I listen and hear from others, the more I can do for the community,” Singh said. She can be reached at 925-2403 or suzanne@santamaria.com.
Intern Caleb Wiseblood wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Feb 9-16, 2017.