Wikipedia:WikiProject Colorado/People
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This should showcase prominent people in Colorado.
Charles Sylvester, Charles "Chuck" W. Sylvester
Charles Walter Sylvester Jr., was born in Greeley, Colorado in 1937. As a fourth-generation Sylvester, he still lives on his 130-year-old family farm, located on the Godfrey Bottom along the South Platte River in LaSalle. Chuck attended LaSalle Elementary and graduated from Greeley High in 1955. During his childhood, Chuck established a good work ethic, and learned about DeKalb corn, calves, sugar beets, alfalfa, Pekin ducks, horses, irrigating, and water from his father Charles Sr. and mother Mildred.
Active in 4-H and FFA, he showed steers and heifers at the Weld County and Colorado State Fairs. Chuck attributes his interest in livestock as having taken him to Colorado A & M (now known as Colorado State University), where he graduated with a Bachelors in Animal Science in 1961. Some CSU activities included Livestock Club, Rodeo Club, Wrangler jeans model, and organizer of the Little NW Stock Show Skyline Stampede Rodeo.
Following college graduation, Chuck was employed with the A.S.C. and Soil Conservation Offices, and was a chemical salesman for Farm Chemical in Longmont. In '63, he was named the Assistant Boulder County Agent. Working at the same time with the county 4-H, he began his lifelong commitment to helping youth.
In 1969, he moved his young family — daughter Lois, son Duane and wife Kay — to Pueblo, where he picked up the reins as Assistant Manager of the Colorado State Fair where, in 1972, he helped plan the fair's 100th anniversary.
As a part of that celebration, Chuck re-introduced the Draft Horse Show, and designed and helped inaugurate the Colorado Centennial Farm Award, which is awarded to the oldest farm or ranch owned and operated by the same family for over 100 years. Twenty years later the Sylvester Farm received this honor.
Willard Simms, a gentleman who became Chuck's mentor, asked Chuck to do some projects for the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in 1975. These tasks led to his being named Manager of the NWSS's Livestock Center (the old Denver Union Stockyards), home of the famous Pen and Carload Show and eventually the backbone of the NWSS's now-world-famous livestock show. Chuck directed the complete renovation-expansion of the old yards to accommodate the carload and cattle auction division of the show, and upon Mr. Simms' retirement in '78, Sylvester took over as General Manager. Click here to read James B. Meadow's (Rocky Mountain News, January 6, 2006) recollections about Chuck's time as General Manager of NWSS.
Upon learning of his departure from the cowboy world in favor of the corporate, longtime Wyoming friend Jimmie Grieve lamented, "There are lots of managers around, but there aren't that many good cowboys."
Remaining on the NWSS board as a consultant, Simms suggested a demographic study. This study concluded that compared to other large shows, the NWSS wasn't getting its fair share of urban attendees. The turnaround began in 1981, when Chuck introduced a Draft Horse Show. With the sponsorship of Coors, the gentle giants once again proved their ability to draw people. Progressively, other events were introduced: the Mini Horse, Llama and Dog Pull shows. By 1987, a new survey showed that 66% of the attendance now came from the 6 county metro areas.
The 2003 show completed Chuck's 25th year and brought his retirement. During these years, the show grew threefold, expanding from an attendance of 200,000 over 9 days to more than 600,000 over 16 days.
During Sylvester's years with the Stock Show, he still worked on his ranches and farm, was instrumental in forming the Colorado Association of Fairs and Shows and the National Association of Rodeo Committees, did career day at elementary schools, served on the PRCA board of directors, was on the PRCA grievance committee, stayed involved in the Weld County Fair Board and T-Bone Club, and completed his masters program in Ag Economics at CSU in 1981. Each year since being named Colt of the Year in 1987, Chuck joins the Roundup Riders of the Rockies on a backcountry horse ride, and now serves on their board of directors. He was named Roundup Rider of the Year in 1997.
In 1995, Ronita "Roni" Bell came to interview and photograph Chuck for an equine publication. Marrying Roni in 2001, he claims, "she hit me in the head with a rock, and I haven't been the same since." Newly re-married on November 18, 2001, Chuck and Roni began the complete renovation of Chuck's 100-year-old farmhouse. Twenty months later, with marriage still intact, they moved into what is now their dream home for life! The earliest records of the Sylvester farm mention Chuck's great grandfather, Charles E. Miller, as trustee for the incorporation of the Godfrey Irrigation Ditch in Weld County Territory of Colorado, 1870. Today, Chuck serves as president of the Godfrey Ditch Company. With his daughter Lois (who lives with her husband in Bozeman, Montana), Chuck is majority owner of a Wyoming cow/calf operation — the Circle Bar Cattle Co. Son Duane owns a farm in Lingle, Wyoming, where he grows corn and lives with his wife Jennifer and son Wyatt. Chuck's close friend and foreman Cal Hancock handles all operations at the Wyoming ranches. Between the two of them, Chuck and Roni have six children, six granddaughters, and two grandsons. Chuck with Jim & Nadine Henry, CSU Alumni of the Century
Since retirement, Chuck spends more time working cattle on his ranches, drives his Haflinger hitch, plays with his 1942 Ford Army jeep, has converted his shop into a "party suite," cash-leases his alfalfa farm in Lingle, Wyoming, serves on the boards of the Colorado Boys Ranch, the Continental Divide Trail Alliance and T-Bone, and enjoys Wyoming Stock Grower folks. At their farm in LaSalle, Chuck and Roni raise grass hay and cash-lease corn acres, take care of horses, cats and dogs, irrigate, fix fence, clean old farm buildings, work on a trail they had bobcated along the river, and run around trying to find stuff while learning songs.
Paid for by Sylvester for Colorado... as Governor • Committee, Charles W. Sylvester • Registered Agent
