Major Jessica Doria (right) of The Salvation Army, El Centro office, shares a moment with Maria Hernandez, 94, of El Centro, who has been a bell ringer for The Salvation Army for 10 years. Hernandez, who said her faith guides her service as a bell ringer, is stationed at the El Centro Vons Monday through Friday throughout the holiday season.

For Maria Hernandez, the holiday season is a special time for many reasons, but there is one tradition that makes this time of year even more meaningful for the 94-year-old El Centro resident.

Hernandez is a bell ringer for The Salvation Army—has been for the last ten years.

Every day, Monday through Friday, no matter how warm or cold, she takes her spot in front of her city’s Vons and begins the work that she believes brings hope to all those greeted with the sound of her bell

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In this file photo from year’s past, provided by the the Brawley Chamber of Commerce, a Mariachi Band performs during the Mariachi Night community event in the Plaza along Main Street in Brawley. Mariachi Night is one of the events that is part of the Cattle Call Jamboree celebration. Organized by the Chamber, the Cattle Call Jamboree takes place over the week leading up to the annual Cattle Call Rodeo. This year, the Jamboree returns while following all safety requirements.

“The Cowboys Are Back in Town.”

That’s the theme for the Brawley Chamber of Commerce’s Cattle Call Jamboree 2021, a series of events aimed at celebrating family, community, and the Cattle Call Rodeo tradition, important not only to those who reside in Brawley, but all of Imperial County.

Largely sidelined last year due to COVID-19 restrictions (events were held virtually in 2020), the Chamber-led Cattle Call

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A cowboy competes in the saddle bronc competition during a past Cattle Call Rodeo in Brawley. In 2020, the rodeo was held to keep the rodeo’s long tradition going but was organized without spectators following COVID-19 safety guidelines from the state and from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Instead, last year’s rodeo was livestreamed. This year, in line with current safety protocols, spectators will be able to attend Cattle Call, which is now in its 65th year.

Photo provided by the Cattle Call Rodeo Committee.

If there ever was a question of just how important Cattle Call Rodeo is to the Imperial Valley, the 2020 rodeo held amid the COVID-19 shutdowns provided proof that from its very beginning 64 years ago, Cattle Call has not only been a celebration of community, but it has also been lifted-up by that very same community.

In the months

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