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Rodeo June 4-5 benefits free youth tutoring
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Professional rodeo is returning to the South County after a hiatus of more than a decade.

The Ropin’ on the River Rodeo will take place June 4-5 at Dell’Osso Farms in Lathrop. It is being staged by Give Every Child a Chance in conjunction with Rockin’ Rodeo Productions.

The last time pro rodeo competition took place in the South County was in the mid-1990s when the Manteca Rodeo was held along the Highway 120 Bypass near where Bass Pro Shops is today.

The Manteca area has produced a number of rodeo competitors including Ted Nuce who won the 1995 Professional Bull Riders Championship and made a record 14 straight world championship appearances from 1982 through 1996.

Nuce will be on hand to sign autographs.

“This is a major fundraiser for us to keep offering free tutoring and mentoring,” noted GECAC Executive Director Carol Davis.

The organization currently is serving 4,172 students in various free programs in Manteca, Ripon, Escalon, Banta, Lathrop, and Weston Ranch.

They run the gamut from one-on-one tutoring and afterschool programs to technology outreach.

The GECAC will need close to 200 volunteers in order to stage the rodeo.

Each position has different needs, shifts, and required duties. All volunteers will have free admission as well as food and drink vouchers according to volunteer chairman David Silveira.

Among the general tasks that need volunteers to staff are registration, security, parking lot attendants, barbeque grounds set up, grounds tear down, maintenance, awards, hospitality, publicity, and admissions.