2020 Press Releases

GETTING AN EDUCATION
St. Paul Rodeo awards scholarships

St. Paul, Ore. (May 29, 2020) – For the 48th year, St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo has awarded two scholarships to area youth.

Isabela Hockett and Zach Brentano will each receive $4,000 towards their college education.

Hockett, a 2020 graduate of St. Paul High School, was active in a variety of clubs and organizations throughout her high school career.

She held offices in DECA and the Associated Student Body, was a member of the Health Occupations Club, FFA and Choir, Virtue First, and was team manager for the track and field and cross country sports.

She volunteered at her school and with the Newberg Providence Medical Center and the Woodburn Relay for Life, and at the St. Paul Rodeo.

After suffering three concussions her eighth grade year, she struggled to regain her focus with schoolwork. Those struggles helped define her career path; she will attend Boise (Idaho) State University and major in a health-related field with the goal of becoming a registered dietician. Maintaining a healthy diet was instrumental in her recovery from the concussions.

Hockett has volunteered with the rodeo, working concession stands and parking lots for the St. Paul High School Booster Club.

The rodeo is something she loves. “It’s a special time,” she said. “It’s in a beautiful place, with so many people cheering, having fun and laughing. It’s a great time, definitely my favorite time of the year.”

The daughter of Bryan and Veronica, she was on the St. Paul High School honor roll and a member of the National Honor Society.

The second recipient of a St. Paul Rodeo scholarship is Zach Brentano.

Brentano will begin his second year of college at Oregon State University, where he is a math major.

A 2019 St. Paul High School graduate, he was involved in DECA, FBLA, FFA, Virtue First, Key Club, and played three sports (football, basketball and baseball) all four years of high school, lettering in basketball and baseball four times each and football three times.

Math has always come naturally to him. He remembers, as a youngster, sitting in the back of the car while traveling, multiplying the numbers on road signs. By third grade, he could multiply two digit numbers in his head. As a preschooler, he would sit with his sister as she did her kindergarten homework and do the math with her.

Brentano’s dream job is to work as a sports analyst with the Portland Blazers or a college football team.

He began his St. Paul Rodeo volunteer work with the St. Paul Parish chicken barbecue stand, serving soda, then graduated to making strawberry shortcake and working the cash register. In high school, he volunteered as a parking lot attendant for two to three rodeo shows a year.

He loves the St. Paul Rodeo for the significance it brings to his hometown. “It’s an identity for the town, something that is super cool,” he said. “I get to claim to be from St. Paul, and people really want to come and experience” the rodeo.

The son of Pete and Wendy, Brentano was on the honor roll in high school, a member of the National Honor Society, and was on Oregon State’s honor roll for his freshman year.

The St. Paul Rodeo Association awards two scholarships each year; one to a graduating senior of St. Paul High School and one to a child of a St. Paul Rodeo Association member. Brentano’s parents are St. Paul Rodeo Association members. The rodeo began awarding scholarships in 1973; since then, over $200,000 has been given.

This year’s St. Paul Rodeo has been canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 rodeo will be held June 30-July 4, 2021.
For more information, visit StPaulRodeo.com.

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Cutlines:

Isabela Hockett is the recipient of a St. Paul Rodeo scholarship. The 2020 St. Paul High School graduate will attend Boise (Idaho) State University to pursue a career as a registered dietician.

Zach Brentano, who has completed his first year of college at Oregon State University, has received a 2020 St. Paul Rodeo scholarship. He is a math major and was on the college honor roll last year.

For Immediate ReleaseContact: Cindy Schonholtz
February 13, 2020503-633-2031
manager@stpaulrodeo.com

City of St. Paul and St. Paul Rodeo Association Sign Management Agreement

St. Paul, Oregon, February 13, 2020. The City of St. Paul and St. Paul Rodeo Association representatives signed a historic agreement between the City and the Rodeo Association under which the Association will manage the St. Paul Rodeo Complex and the City Park on behalf of the City. The City Council approved the agreement at its February 12^th regular monthly meeting.

At the same meeting, the City Council also improved the Association’s request to make approximately $450,000 in capital improvements to the Complex and replace the existing stadium lighting. New lighting will be added inside the City Park, too.

The final management agreement is the result of more than two and one-half years of negotiations and will usher in a new level of cooperation between the City and the Association. It has strong support from community stakeholders including the St. Paul School District, St. Paul Fire District, St. Paul Parish, and the St. Paul Jaycees. Public comment was also sought on the draft agreement to ensure the public had a chance to weigh in.

Both organizations and the community will benefit from the agreement, which has a 50-year term and replaces the current Use Agreement that expires in 2036. The long term will allow the Association to keep producing a world class rodeo event and facilitate future improvements to include new stadium lighting and bleachers. The Association will maintain the facility and assume responsibility for year around maintenance of the City Park to reduce City expenses and provide an improved and accessible community park. The agreement protects the established uses of the Park by the Jaycees, Parish, and community organizations, allows them to continue to benefit from activities there, and continues the use of the Rodeo Arena for high school football.

The City will benefit from revenue sharing provisions in the agreement, as well. The City will receive a base annual revenue share which increases every year by the change in the Consumer Price Index, plus an additional share of certain ticket sales and fees collected at non-St. Paul Rodeo events at the Complex, if they occur.

There’s good news for City residents, as well. The agreement allows the City to connect its municipal water system to the Association well, subject to final approval by the Oregon Health Authority and other regulators. The well would replace one of the City’s aging wells, alleviate the City’s water system problems and improve fireflow. Association President Kevin Smith and Mayor Martin Waldo signed the agreement on February 13, 2020.

The St. Paul Rodeo Board offers its sincere thanks the City Council for its efforts and cooperation. Special thanks are extended to the members of the City and Association negotiation teams for their work and the many long hours they invested in the project with the promise of a brighter future for the St. Paul Rodeo and the City.

The St. Paul Rodeo Board will now turn its focus to preparing for the 85^th Annual St. Paul Rodeo which will be held on June 30 – July 4, 2020.