REGION
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
MILTON-FREEWATER
Round-Up and Happy Canyon’s
general manager announces retirement
Beard was “the
right guy at the
right time”
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
The Pendleton Round-
Up’s first-ever general man-
ager announced he will
retire in May.
Casey Beard started man-
aging the rodeo just after the
organization’s second cen-
tury kicked off. He was hired
to oversee the Round-Up
and Happy Canyon Night
Pageant, along with other
events such as Professional
Bull Riding events and
music concerts.
The pair of organizations
have many moving parts. In
2014, the two boards decided
that time had come for a
general manager to oversee
both organizations and tie
them into a cohesive whole.
At the time, Round-Up Pres-
ident Tim Hawkins called
Beard “the right guy at the
right time as we move into
the next 100 years.”
Beard, an easy-going
retired Army officer with
master’s degrees in interna-
tional business and strate-
gic studies, got started. He
brought with him lessons
learned as director of grants
at Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College, management
of his family’s rodeo live-
stock business and direc-
tor of safety programs at the
Umatilla Chemical Depot.
Beard’s ties with the
rodeo go back decades lon-
ger than his stint as general
manager. His grandfather
raced stagecoaches at the
Round-Up.
According to Round-Up
President Dave O’Neill and
Happy Canyon President
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Casey Beard, first-ever general manager of Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Can-
yon organizations, announced he will retire in May.
Cory Neistadt, both orga-
nizations benefited from
Beard’s nurturing.
“Casey has done a truly
outstanding job as our first
general manager,” O’Neill
said. “Among the many
important projects he helped
spearhead were revital-
izing our east-end facil-
ities, including the 1910
Room and Section DD Bar,
achieving record attendance
and retail sales, improv-
ing relationships with the
city, expanding our facili-
ties, creating a vibrant social
media presence and winning
the PRCA Large Outdoor
Rodeo of the Year award
three times.”
Beard also benefited
Happy Canyon and the
community, Neistadt said,
smoothing the way for addi-
tional events, such as the
Pendleton Whisky Music
Fest, helping expand brand
recognition through a strate-
gic partnership with Travel
Oregon, facilitating the
Happy Canyon Court’s par-
ticipation in the National
Finals Rodeo’s Cowboy
Christmas and lobbying
for Happy Canyon’s iconic
paint horse, Chinook, to go
to the National Finals Rodeo
to stand solemnly during the
national anthem (along with
rider Bryson Bronson).
“What
(Casey)
has
accomplished in his years
with us has been amazing,”
Neistadt said. “His contribu-
tions will be felt for years to
come.”
On Tuesday afternoon,
Beard sat in his office tucked
under the north side grand-
stands and gave an easy-go-
ing grin. Two huge images
flanked his desk. One
showed a saddle bronc rider,
freshly tossed to the dirt. In
the other, a Happy Canyon
princess rides a horse. Beard
glanced around the room
and said he’d miss the space
and his day-to-day reality as
general manager, but he’s
ready for something differ-
ent. He said the last almost
five years flashed by at a diz-
zying speed.
“Going in, we had ide-
als and operational goals,”
he said. “Things happened
faster than we anticipated.
Our six-month plan was
obsolete by the end of the
first month.”
He treasures the rodeo’s
recognition as PRCA’s
Large Outdoor Rodeo of the
Year and other milestones.
He credited “a loyal, cre-
ative and dedicated staff.”
“It has been an honor
to serve as he first general
manager in the long, illustri-
ous histories of these world
famous events,” Beard said.
In the coming months, a
search committee will select
Beard’s replacement.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0810.
PENDLETON
First Draft welcomes Oregon’s poet laureate
Kim Stafford to
present at arts
center
East Oregonian
The First Draft Writers’
Series at Pendleton Center
for the Arts will welcome
Oregon’s poet laureate Kim
Stafford as its headliner this
month.
He will read from his new-
est works Thursday at 7 p.m.
at 214 N. Main St., Pend-
leton. The event is free and
open to the public.
A poet and essayist, Staf-
ford is the founding direc-
tor of The Northwest Writ-
ing Institute at Lewis & Clark
College, where he has taught
since 1979. Stafford comes
by writing naturally — he is
the son of William Stafford,
Oregon’s poet laureate from
1974-89. The younger Staf-
ford was appointed by Gov.
Kate Brown earlier this year
as Oregon’s ninth poet laure-
ate since 1921.
Stafford grew up in Ore-
gon, Iowa, Indiana, Califor-
nia and Alaska — following
his parents as they taught and
traveled. He is the author of
a dozen books of poetry and
prose, and holds a Ph.D. in
medieval literature from the
University of Oregon. Staf-
ford has worked as a printer,
photographer, oral historian,
editor and visiting writer
Contributed photo
Kim Stafford, who was appointed earlier this year as Or-
egon’s poet laureate, will read Thursday during the First
Draft Writers’ Series at Pendleton Center for the Arts.
at numerous colleges and
schools, and offered writing
workshops in Italy, Scotland
and Bhutan.
His book, “Having Every-
thing Right,” won a citation
for excellence from the West-
ern States Book Awards in
1986. Stafford has received
creative writing fellowships
from the National Endow-
ment for the Arts, a Gover-
nor’s Arts Award for his con-
tributions to Oregon’s literary
culture, and his work has
been featured on National
Public Radio.
“Poetry is our native lan-
guage,” Stafford said. “In
a society of diverse back-
grounds and perspectives,
poetry builds community.”
In addition, a poetry writ-
ing workshop follows on Fri-
day from 9-11:30 a.m., also
at the arts center. While it’s
also free, those who plan to
attend are asked to register in
advance.
Titled “Poems for a Bet-
ter Nation,” it will explore the
poet’s work in these strange
times. Participants will dis-
cuss how words can most
matter for the good of our
nation and Earth.
As Canadian poet Den-
nis Lee once said, in words
engraved on the outer wall
of the Scottish parliament,
we need to “Work as if in the
early days of a better nation.”
Workshop participants will
read and write poems that
seed the future with truth and
challenge, question and wit-
ness — from outright polit-
ical poems to more oblique
contributions to a better
nation.
The Oregon poet laure-
ate fosters the art of poetry,
encourages literacy and
learning, addresses central
issues relating to humanities
and heritage, and reflects on
public life in Oregon. As part
of his assignment, Stafford
participates in public read-
ings to inform people about
the value of poetry and cre-
ative expression.
Showcasing
notable
Pacific Northwest authors,
the First Draft Writers’ Series
meets the third Thursday of
each month. For more infor-
mation or to register for
the workshop, visit www.
pendletonarts.org. For more
information, contact 541-
278-9201 or director@pend-
letonarts.org. To learn about
the poet laureate program,
visit www.culturaltrust.org,
and for more about Stafford,
www.kim-stafford.com.
comfort and cheer
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8 S E C O U RT, P E N D L E T O N • 5 4 1 . 2 7 8 . 1 1 0 0
Man arrested after
firing gun near school
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Zachary Lincoln of
Milton-Freewater ended
up on the shocking end of
a stun gun before landing
in jail.
Staff at the Mil-
ton-Stateline
Adventist
School, 53565 W. Crockett
Road, Milton-Freewater,
called law enforcement on
Monday morning to report
hearing a gunshot from
across the street, accord-
ing to a written statement
from the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy responded and
contacted school officials.
Two Oregon State Police
troopers also responded,
and school officials took
the precautionary mea-
sure to place the school on
lockdown.
While law enforcement
was on the scene, Lincoln,
27, came out from his res-
idence across the street
Film chronicles
American Indian
land lawsuit
Gifts, Crafts
and Bake Sale
1350 NW Carden Ave,
Pendleton. OR.
November 16 & 17, 2018
9AM to 6PM
Seeking Vendors
$25 per table.
Call Gann 541-561-3024
day, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in
ST-200 at Blue Mountain
Community College, 2411
N.W. Carden Ave., Pendle-
ton. There is no admission
charge.
The movie, which was
released in 2016, has been
featured in numerous film
festivals. The unrated film
is 76 minutes long.
For more informa-
tion, contact Annie Smith,
BMCC Native Ameri-
can Liaison and Success
Coach, at asmith@bluecc.
edu or 541-278-5935. For
more about the film, visit
www.100yearsthemovie.
com.
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to view
a documentary film about
the largest class action
lawsuit against the United
States government.
The
movie,
“100
Years,” shares about Elou-
ise Cobell, who filed the
suit in 1996 and won a
$3.4 billion settlement for
300,000 American Indians
whose lands were misman-
aged by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Interior. The free
screening is Wednes-
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastorego-
nian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy
Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee
Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call
541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
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DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH (PG)
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from the school and yelled
at officers to leave.
“Mr. Lincoln admit-
ted to discharging a round
from a handgun while try-
ing to fix it,” the sheriff’s
office reported.
“He voluntarily surren-
dered the gun. He said he
was upset because of the
police presence and that
they were on his property.”
Officers talked to Lin-
coln and determined he
was not a threat to the
school nor anyone else.
But during the conver-
sation, according to the
sheriff’s office, Lincoln
allegedly pushed the dep-
uty in the chest, and one of
the troopers fired his Taser
on Lincoln.
The
deputy
then
arrested Lincoln and
booked him into the Uma-
tilla County Jail, Pendle-
ton, for the misdemeanor
charge of second-degree
disorderly conduct.
East Oregonian
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11/14
For a complete listing of
regional events, visit
easternoregonevents.com
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