Luis Olmedo Velez is pictured in front of the office of Comite Civico Del Valle.

Luis Olmedo Velez knows what it is to feel disenfranchised.

Born in Mexicali, the son of a farmworker, his family moved to the Imperial Valley in the ’70s when he was a young boy and lived in tiny farmworker housing with outdoor communal showers. His family—poor but proud.

Life brought challenges. In Mexicali he thrived in school. Once living in the Valley, he had to start over. Learn English. Adapt to a new school. New culture. It would take time but eventually he would find his path and his voice.

Today, he draws from his past as he serves as executive director of the community-based organization, Comite Civico Del Valle, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded by his father, Jose Velez, in 1987. Through Comite Civico, he is giving voice to the disenfranchised on critical issues impacting their

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Pictured are the members of the Cattle Call Rodeo Committee. Front row (left to right): Robin Williams and Joanie Moore. Back row (left to right): Chairman Curtis Rutherford, Danny Williams, Larry Alford, Carson Kalin, Mark Huber, and Larry Allen.

With just a little over a month since the the 59th annual Cattle Call Rodeo was held, work is already underway for the 60th rodeo to be held in November 2016, and for the Cattle Call Rodeo Committee it will be a busy year of preparation.

To make Cattle Call a success every year, it takes a year of preparation, so for the Rodeo Committee there is never down time.

As volunteers,

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