GREATER CHEYENNE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
“ As a Chamber President I have grown to appreciate the skill it takes to run a wide variety of businesses.”
A message from
Your CEO
DALE STEENBERGEN, GREATER CHEYENNE CHABMER OF COMMERCE CEO / PRESIDENT
A real cowboy can throw a“ houlihan” or“ hooley-han” depending on what part of the country you are from. A houlihan is a way to rope nervous stock, especially horses, in one motion. It is definitely an art as much as a skill. This technique takes more than a little practice to master it. I learned to throw a houlihan in order to catch young horses in the breaking pen. You must travel far and wide to find folks who have kept up with this art form, but when you find someone who is proficient at it you can be confident that you have met a true cowboy.
Cowboys are a great part of the Cheyenne tradition and while you might see a lot of folks wearing boots and hats you don’ t see or meet a lot of cowboys even in a quintessential cowboy town like Cheyenne. What sorts the cowboys from the chaff, so to speak, is not what they wear but what they know how to do. It’ s the knowledge and skill of throwing a houlihan or knowing not to tie a horse up by its reins or even being able to know when a cow needs help calving that creates the divide. When I think about it, what divides a true cowboy from a city slicker applies to a lot more than caring for cows. Knowledge and practice are important. Even though we have many folks in this“ age of Google” who are self-proclaimed experts when it comes down to producing results they are a little lacking.
As a Chamber President I have grown to appreciate the skill it takes to run a wide variety of businesses. Dry cleaners, roofers, attorneys, retailers and many other business segments learn the tricks of their trade and the great ones learn how to throw the proverbial houlihan. These are the folks that excel at their task, who are exceptional at their life’ s work and who are proud to share the skill with customers. Often, I find that these folks are also the survivors. The folks who weather the storm and continue to ply their trade
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