Behind the sights and sounds of the Greeley Stampede — the rides, the music, the shows and the rodeos — is a large group of hardworking people who bring much of the experience to life for attendees at one of the region’s marquee summer events.
The volunteers.
With up to 450 people working in volunteer roles at any given time, this segment of the Stampede workforce is responsible for an estimated 85% to 90% of the production of the event, according to Stampede committee general chairman and volunteer Jesse Leos.
On the rodeo side of the event, longtime volunteers Barb and Jim Welch need things to be “cooking” at a high level. For the past 10 years, the LaSalle husband and wife have been in charge of feeding the rodeo participants.
Jim Welch, right, works on the electric outlet with his wife, Barb Welch, as they prepare for the upcoming Greeley Stampede while at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley on May 29, 2025. The Welches coordinate a team of volunteers in the rodeo contestant hospitality program. This year, the hospitality program workers will serve 13 meals in eight days to more than 2,000 rodeo riders. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)The Welches coordinate a team of volunteers in the rodeo contestant hospitality program. This year, the hospitality program workers will serve 13 meals in eight days to more than 2,000 rodeo riders.
“People think we make a difference in their lives,” Jim said. “They make a difference in our lives. People are coming in from all over the country and you spend a little time with them, and it’s just really rewarding.”
This year, the hospitality team will prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner on two different days, breakfast and lunch on another day and a single meal on five other days.
All of the food is homemade, and most is cooked on-site. Baked goods are made in advance and frozen. Ham and chicken is prepped ahead of time too. The chicken is shredded for fajitas.
The menu prominently features protein, starches, fruit and salads. For breakfasts, there are pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a yogurt bar. At other meals, the options include ham, fajitas, macaroni and cheese, steaks, roasts, pork loin, grilled vegetables, a potato casserole, fruit and desserts.
Last year, the hospitality team went through 64 gallons of sweet tea and 1,100 bottles of water, Barb said.
“They’re athletes, and they need a good balanced diet and they need choices,” Barb said. “No matter what kind of diet they’re on and what kind of allergies they have, there’ll be plenty of food.”
The Stampede has two sources of volunteers. Leos said there are about 280 this year who are Wranglers, which are volunteers who sign up with the Stampede. The Wranglers are the Stampede’s “core volunteers,” Leos said, and they are involved for days leading into the start of the Stampede and for a few days at the end.
Other volunteers come to the Stampede through other groups and organizations, such as high school teams or clubs. The Stampede then donates money back to those groups. Leos said there are about 12 groups with volunteers who help at the Stampede.
Leos called the Welches’ dedication and commitment “invaluable.”
“They provide an amazing hospitality experience for our contestants,” Leos wrote in an email. “It takes countless hours to prepare and set up for each meal, and they do it all with a smile.”
In March, the Welches were the inaugural winners of the Stampede’s Legacy Award of Excellence. The award celebrates those who have been steadfast and passionate about the Stampede in ways not traditionally recognized but crucial to the event’s success.
Married 56 years in March, the Welches are in their 43rd year as Stampede volunteers. Barb, 74, is a retired nurse. Jim, 77, is retired from electrical work.
“We have volunteered our lives with 4-H, schools and church,” Barb said. “Jim was in the Navy and we do ship reunions. Our careers are volunteer people.”
Among the hospitality team members working with the Welches is their grandson, Austin Miller. He oversees all of the grill work.
“And he puts up with us,” Barb said.
The other members are Shari Stroup, of Bellvue, who has volunteered at the Stampede for more than 40 years; Jim and Sue Nash of Milliken; Jeff and Mary Gardner of Kersey; Jodi Gunn of Pierce; LaJune Hays of Greeley, who’s volunteered for more than 40 years; Claudia Sitzman of Greeley; Mary Kay Phillips of Windsor; Christine Sallee of Greeley; Pam Larkin of Greeley; and Fran Parker, of Greeley, who has also volunteered for more than 40 years, Barb said.
Phillips and Parker are widows of former Stampede committee members who retired out of committee work and are known as “Old Buckers.”
Grant Phillips was on the Stampede committee from 1981-87. He died in December 2023. Art Parker joined the committee in 1989 and served until 1996. He was a member of the inaugural Greeley Stampede Hall of Fame in 2018. Parker died in December 2021.
The Welches’ work on the Stampede runs annually from February through October.
Barb plans menus and shops for the food. The Welches are later reimbursed by the Stampede. Barb works with Stampede CEO Justin Watada during the winter on what’s needed from corporate donors. That includes major Stampede sponsor JBS USA, which operates a beef plant in Greeley and donates beef for the event.
From late June through early July, the Welches essentially live at the Stampede. When they arrive, there is a shed and an electrical pedestal. The city of Greeley has picnic tables and a tent for shade. The Welches provide much of the rest: trailers with equipment right down to serving spoons.
The electricity was installed at the outdoor site just a few years ago. They have access to a kitchen in the 4-H building on the other side of the Island Grove Park grounds, but it’s too far away for efficient cooking. Instead, they use pellet grills, roasters and fryers.
“We are a chuckwagon dinner without the chuckwagon,” Barb said, noting the group follows all county health department rules and regulations for outdoor cooking.
Volunteers Jeff Gardner, left, Barb Welch, center, and Mary Gardner stretch out a tarp as the prepare for the upcoming Greeley Stampede while at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley on May 29, 2025.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)The couple started in security work as volunteers at the Stampede. Barb was a Stampede rider, along with fellow hospitality volunteer Shari Stroup, more than 40 years ago. The Welches later worked at horse stalls before taking on hospitality when the Stampede restarted the program.
Barb said the Stampede is rare among large rodeos for serving contestants full meals. She takes a lot of pride in the work from the hospitality team, and especially hearing from contestants who in part come to Greeley because of the food.
“We love being with the (Stampede) staff and contestants,” she said. “It makes me feel we’re doing the right thing. We don’t know where else to be on the Fourth of July.”
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