EAST HELENA — Before the bleachers fill up, before the livestock arrive, before the action takes place on the dirt, there is a lot that happens behind the scenes to make the East Helena Rodeo happen every year.
The 100-percent volunteer East Helena Valley Rodeo Association has been putting on the event every year since 1963. It’s a lot of work.
WATCH: 100% volunteers. 63 years. One incredible rodeo. 🤠 East Helena's annual rodeo runs through Saturday
“People have been out here all day, every day since Monday,” East Helena Valley Rodeo Association President Katie Bakke said.
Leading up to the rodeo, volunteers are out at the rodeo grounds setting up bleachers, hanging signs, making sure the dirt is ready, and more.
“I look forward to it; it’s exciting, I like doing it,” East Helena Valley Rodeo Association Treasurer Rhonda Vogl said. “It’s a lot of hard work; it’s a week of no sleep.”
For volunteers like Bakke and Vogl, the job doesn’t end when the rodeo gates open. The number of volunteers grows to about 100 to help welcome the between 2,500-3,000 rodeo spectators, and keep the show going.
“Everything you can imagine we do, we do,” Bakke said.
It’s not all work, though; there is fun too. For Vogl, that’s handing out a prize to a young cowboy or cowgirl.
“They’re so excited because they won their first check,” she said.
After the rodeo ends, Bakke, Vogl and other members of the East Helena Valley Rodeo Association get a little break before planning starts all over again.
“Oh, about a week after the rodeo each year,” Bakke said.
Thanks to volunteer help, ticket sales from each rodeo are able to fund the next year’s event, but Bakke said donations are needed to help the rodeo, and rodeo grounds, grow.
Thanks to a donation from Kyle Simpson with Simpson Oil Field Services, the East Helena Valley Rodeo Association was able to purchase a 650-seat grandstand, and they’d like to buy another in the future.
You can find more information about the rodeo, how to donate, and how to volunteer on the East Helena Valley Rodeo Association website.
