It was Tranyce Moore’s first rodeo – literally – and her older daughter, Tessa, was reminding her of it.
“Mom, you’ve already done two of the three things they told you not to do!”
“I had a flip phone, I had my pants tucked into my boots, I didn’t have a rookie bag,” Moore recalled of her initial volunteer experience a decade-plus ago. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can do this.’ I was a nervous wreck.”
Moore’s anxiety was understandable given her important role as a Gatekeeper, one of the first faces you’ll see arriving to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR), which annually draws nearly three million fans over a three-week period.
Being a Gatekeeper involves far more than greeting fans with a “Howdy!” at the gate’s perimeter.
“It seems like every shift something happens,” said Moore. “Someone gets lost, someone ends up on the wrong cart, someone loses a phone. The hardest part is the weather, since you can never control it. One night, we had sleet. We’re there to help make whatever happens better.”
It’s a responsibility well suited for Moore given her slightly different gatekeeper role supporting Regions Bank’s Houston Commercial Banking team as an administrative assistant the past 28 years.
A Regions teammate at the time recruited Moore to become involved with HLSR. Despite her initially rocky start out of the chute, she learned the rodeo’s ins and outs – so much so, Moore progressed up the ranks to serve as one of three assistant captains four years ago.
“It’s a big honor,” Moore said of the role. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of pre-work. But it’s a lot of fun, too.”
Her captain, Josh Brown, considers Moore a team anchor.
“It’s difficult to summarize in just a few words the impact Tranyce has made,” said Brown. “Our Gatekeeper leadership relies on her organizational skills and creativity. Tranyce can take any event to the next level and address any potential hiccups with a smile. During rodeo, you will find Tranyce running around the grounds also making sure our volunteers are well taken care of and ensuring a smooth shift.”
How much volunteer power does it take to successfully pull of the HLSR?
- Each Gatekeeper group has 10 to 56 members
- There are nearly 1,800 Gatekeeper Committee members
- There are 109 HLSR committees composed of more than 35,000 volunteers
Moore uses her Regions Evergreen Week and “What a Difference a Day Makes” days plus vacation time to volunteer each spring.
Oh, and she pays to volunteer. Yes, you read that correctly.
“We all pay to volunteer,” Moore said. “We buy pins, too; each committee designs a new pin each year. We sell them to team members to fund two $20,000 youth scholarships. We also donate books to elementary schools.”
While every day at the rodeo is fun for Moore, some are extra special.
“We have Armed Forces Day, First Responders Day, Community Day and there’s a special needs rodeo for children, too,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to see the kids come out and be a small part of touching so many lives. I love hearing their testimonials about how the experience made their lives better.”
Outside of rodeo season, Moore also plans social activities for her fellow Gatekeeper members.
“We do things on different sides of town, like pickleball, social gatherings, or just meeting at the park and going for a walk,” she said.
It’s also included doing fundraising walks wearing their boots to support fellow Gatekeepers who’ve faced health challenges, something that’s forged an especially tight bond among the group.
“Our team of 56 and I endearingly refer to Tranyce as ‘Rodeo Mom’ as the heart and soul of our volunteer team,” said Brown. “Her remarkable ability to bring people together and foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork makes our volunteer group feel like a second family.”
Our team of 56 and I endearingly refer to Tranyce as ‘Rodeo Mom’ as the heart and soul of our volunteer team. Her remarkable ability to bring people together and foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork makes our volunteer group feel like a second family.
Josh Brown, Rodeo Captian
Her rookie days now long behind her, Moore makes rookie bags filled with necessities like a first-aid kit, handwarmers, raingear and more for each season’s new volunteers.
The one piece of advice she offers first-timers?
“Don’t buy your boots a week before, buy them in January and break them in. In one shift, you could easily walk five miles.”