LHand’s 17Th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament
The Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) will hold its 17th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday, September 11th at 3:30PM at Gannon Municipal Golf Course. The Corporate Sponsor for this year’s event is McGrath Enterprises. The Golf Tournament, which is sold out, will feature about 100 golfers. Tickets are still available for the barbecue dinner which will begin at 5:30PM. Also featured will be a silent auction, raffles and entertainment.
The LHAND has given over $225,000 to high school seniors since the Scholarship Program began. This past year alone over $30,000 was given to graduating seniors. LHAND has awarded scholarships to over one hundred and fifty students and Awards of Merit to over seventy-five community active high school seniors thanks in part to generous donations from friends of the LHAND. An event of this kind would not be possible without the support of friends and local businesses.
The silent auction will feature themed baskets created by employees as well as many wonderful raffle items donated by local businesses. Tickets for a barbecue dinner to start at 5:30PM are still available and are priced at $30 each. Please contact Jon Thibault at (781) 581-8627 or [email protected] for tickets or more information.
Former rodeo champion to bring Wild West Show to Revere
By Seth Daniel
Bull riding, steer roping and rodeo clowns – sounds like Texas.
But it will be in Revere come Sept. 11 in the parking lot of Showcase Cinema where former bull riding champion Kenny Churchill – who, oddly enough, hails from Brookline – will be conducting the City’s first Country and Western Show from 3-11 p.m. – complete with a moving rodeo tribute to 9/11.
“We really want to bring back a unique western show and something like the old ‘Boomtown’ Rex Trailer show,” said Churchill. “I grew up watching Rex Trailer as a kid, like so many others, and was a good friend of his. I was in rodeos and rode bulls for over 20 years. I was a world champion in 1996, 1997 and 1998 – and I was from Brookline. This is something different and something that kids – especially in the urban areas – don’t see much. We’ll have bull riding, trick horse riders, rodeo clowns, barbecue, country music bands, pony rides and lots of vendors selling western wear and cowboy hats. We thought we’d give it a start in Revere and get it going this year and maybe make it an annual event.”
Churchill, of World Cup Bull Riders, said he will lay down an arena of sand in the parking lot, and then bring in the boards to make a real rodeo arena.
“I grew up in Brookline and know the Showcase Cinema very well,” he said. “It’s a good location and very close to Boston. The majority of kids don’t get to see the country and western life and what it’s all about. Many of the kids here haven’t seen a real cowboy hat, and they’ll be around performers who grew up wearing cowboy hats and boots.”
Churchill has an interesting story of his own to share.
Being from Brookline, one doesn’t often associate that comfortable suburb of Boston with the daring mindset of folks who try to ride a kicking and bucking angry bull.
That’s why Churchill said he was the odd man out often during his career.
“My dad was a big time bull rider and competed at Madison Square Garden once,” he said. “I grew up watching him and my cousins from Arizona and Texas. It wasn’t any different from baseball or football to me. I was more of the ugly duckling of professional rodeo because I was from Brookline and had a Boston accent.”
Churchill said rodeo is more about being an athlete than being a cowboy. He cited the fact that he grew up playing hockey and baseball and football. He said anyone who is an athlete can excel at rodeo, citing the great interest in rodeo from Brazilians, Latinos and other nationalities.
“You don’t need to be from Texas to compete at a high level in rodeo,” he said. “If there’s a good athlete and the drive, they can excel in rodeo.”
He said he believes it’s the kind of show that people in the area will really enjoy.
“It’s a good show for everybody and I hope people will come out to see it,” he said.
Tickets are available for the show by calling Churchill at (617) 407-6096.