The Cold Lake Ag Society (CLAS) honoured longtime board member Dennis Dube with a Lifetime membership at their Bullarama event April 5.
Dennis was first roped in to volunteering with CLAS in 1981. Merrill Reid and Gilbert Friske stopped by his Double D Bobcat shop and suggested the small Bobcat loader would be a useful thing at the rodeo grounds. Dennis took the hint and started volunteering.
Ag Society member Carol Porteous remembers, “When we did any activities here, regardless of what we needed, Dennis was a phone call away with ‘his friend Bob.’ That’s what he called his Bobcat. He’d say, ‘Me and Bob will be right there.’”
Dennis retired from the CLAS board at their annual general meeting in January. Although the Bullarama was the first time in 40 years he hasn’t been on the board, he was still helping to set up the arena earlier in the day.
Fellow CLAS member Eva Urlacher says it’s typical of Dennis to grumble about being called on to help, but he’s always the first to pitch in. “He’s a legend. He’s the grumpiest teddy bear I ever saw,” she said.
In a Facebook post April 9, CLAS wrote: “Thank you, Dennis. Your legacy lives on in every event, every rodeo, and every corner of our grounds.”
