25^TH ANNIVERSARY AWARDS BANQUET

Vernon Markworth

The 1998 awards banquet was held at the Wagon Wheel Guest Ranch near Snyder, TX. What a cool place! It looked like an old ranch with turkeys, quail, chickens, dogs, cats and other animals roaming around. A corral had horses and donkeys for those interested in riding. And the large banquet hall was in the center of the place with motorhome hookups all around.

The Saturday events kicked off with a wild auction with Will Hendrix in charge and Jack Henry as the auctioneer – Bruce Lair filled in when Jack couldn’t stop laughing. Lots of good (and questionable) gear along with some items donated by motorcycle dealers. Some hilarious bidding and I think Gary Webb came out top bidder for most of the items. The selection ranged from almost new Alpine Star boots to Larry King’s worn out KDX 260 (ex-200) cylinder. Jack kept the crowd laughing with his jokes.

After that the crowd moved outside for Archie Taliaferro's "Enduro Summer Fun Games". He set up 15 checkpoints – some of which required skill and some that required trivia knowledge of motorcycles and the TSCEC. He had loaded his van to the ceiling with banners and equipment needed for the event. Even brought his own rocks and trees!!! How about these events? Sprocket toss into a barrel, tire rolling through checkpoint lanes, timed trail marking, handlebar toss, and bench racing. The last had a twist. Archie had outfitted a bench with handlebars at one end and two handles at the other end. Two people per bench would straddle the bench and try to race around a course against another team. Spectators loved it!!! And the competitive juices got flowing. Bench Racing – get it? There was some crashing in the corners and everyone had fun. Finally the competitors had to answer a number of trivia questions. The overall winner was – who else – but Haydn Franklin…Dallas Honda provided prizes and drinks for the competitors.

Inside the banquet hall, Fredna Lair and her "team" of Brenda Cribbs, Teresa Whitaker, Lauri Ann Franklin, (and others I probably forgot) did a great job of decorating. Fredna had silver glitter painted cowboy boots sitting on kerchiefs. And David Whitaker had welded up horseshoes to look like small cactus that sat next to the boots. Beautiful – and original. After a really good chicken fried steak dinner we got into the program.

Bruce Lair served as master of ceremonies and he first congratulated Bud Hutchison for his hard work on the circuit web site and then our special guests were introduced – the Hall of Fame members along with several motorcycle dealers and the Tucker Rocky regional manager. Eight of the 15 Hall of Fame members were present and each was given a paper weight memento of the occasion.

Roy Pool, as founder of the circuit, was invited to speak and he told of how he decided to form the circuit and some of its early history. Then Henry Bostick (2^nd inductee in 1977) told some his funny experiences during his riding days. Fredna Lair presented Shirley Miles with a plaque and gold bracelet for her 15 years as Scoring Chairman. I presented a plaque and jacket to our retiring chairman, Stan Simpson (who was unable to attend because of a previous business commitment).

Next Terry Maxwell was inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame for his 5 A class wins. The Rookie of the Year award was presented to Kaylom Young. Enduro of the Year was won by the Boondockers for their fine race last fall. The Challenge C team of Gary Webb, Kenny Otto, and Frank Olson each received a trophy from the Sidewinders MC and a jersey and set of riding pants courtesy of JRJ Sports Center and MSR. The A and B challenge teams received their rotating trophies courtesy of the Trailblazers. A team winners were Haydn Franklin, Todd Slavik, and Larry Crane while the B team winners were Brian Canion, Pete Rowen, and Matt Justice. Periodically during the evening, door prize numbers were announced and a lot of fine gear was given away. This even included MSR and Answer full coverage helmets courtesy of ------ and --------.

The class and overall trophies were the final event on the program and this year there were 115 total. Tucker Rocky and Mike Collins presented full riding outfits for the 5 overall winners in the CD division. This included a custom painted helmet, chest protector, jersey, riding pants and gloves. TR also donated gift certificates and motorcycle products to many of the other winners.

About 9 pm. we moved back the tables and a great local band played Country music and everyone danced until midnight. The next morning Gene Cribbs led a short devotional followed by breakfast. Then it was back home for everyone.

Special thanks to Robert and Martha Curry who helped with ticket sales, trophy organization, and countless other things during the weekend. And the banquet wouldn’t have been possible except for the tireless efforts of Fredna Lair. She spend untold hours planning the banquet. And Bruce – great job as master of ceremonies.