Rick Eccli was born and raised in Sheridan, WY and came to Cheyenne in 1967 to work for the Wyoming Highway Department. In 1983 Tom Gonzales asked Rick if he would like to volunteer for Contract Acts. Rick accepted the invitation and thus began his journey.
Rick first served under the chairmanship of Dave Hollingsworth during his final year. He distinctly remembers Miss Frontier Dede Schuppan. The entertainment that year was Charlie Daniels Band with Lacy J. Dalton, Oak Ridge Boys, Charley Pride Show, Conway Twitty with the Twitty Birds, and David Ferizzell and Shelly West. And, of course, the infamous chuckwagon races that were a pre-event to the night shows. There was no base camp at that time for the 30-night show volunteers, the 100 chuckwagon volunteers had a small cinderblock building to the south of our current location. Most acts had minimal equipment, usually hauled in a small trailer. The stage was brought down the track by a tractor after the chuckwagon races then the band set up took place. They would play for an hour or two after which we loaded the equipment back into their trailer. The stage crew would usually be done before midnight or so if everything went right. The small stage (at least compared to today’s) would do a turnaround at the south end of the track. That took some skill for the tractor driver, especially with adverse weather conditions. Rick inherited that job for a few years from Jim Williamson. After the tractor driving task, he became in charge of the beverage wagon or more commonly known as the “beer wagon”.
Today the Contract Acts Committee has around 375 volunteers. The entertainers have semi-loads of equipment and most travel in two or more luxury motor homes. They write up contracts that can contain the most unusual requests. Rick often reflects on how things have changed over his 41 years of being a volunteer.
Around 1988, when Verne Felton was chairman, the committee was lavished with an old trailer house as their headquarters at the north end of the track. There was no water hook-up or toilet facilities, just a hole in the floor, but they felt quite privileged to have some place to gather and to get out of the elements. Thank goodness they did have electricity. The committee would eat carnie food or some of the wives would provide food. Rick can still remember Nancy Larson’s crispy, fried chicken.
In 1990 Rick became the Stage Crew Assistant, becoming the first of many feathers in his cap. He would help organize the crew to make sure everything went smoothly with the stage set up and break down. Of course, they were always brainstorming ideas and new ways to raise money. Rick was involved in the first Nut Fry that was held as a money raiser and continued to grow and prosper over the years. Along with that, it was decided that they would sell the entertainers’ merchandise instead of paying someone. That involved more people, so the committee continued to grow and flourish. A new building was constructed in the early 1990s under Ken McCann’s directive with all the modern amenities. A crew was put in place to cook meals for the volunteers because they could be out there from morning until the early hours of the following morning. One would never know when the entertainers would show up. When they did, they would often have to entertain them by taking them shopping, swimming, maybe taking their kids to the movies, or other recreational activities such as golf, target shooting, motorcycle riding, sightseeing, and such. There was always something that would pop up. It became apparent that the entertainers and their crews would rather join our committee for some home cooking instead of the carnival food. The committee started cooking for them which could be well over 100 mouths to feed. Rick was involved in most of the functions of Contract Acts, except for the cooking. That is one thing, despite his many jobs, he is not A COOK.
In 1995 Rick was elected to the HEELs, which was another feather in his cap. I was ever so grateful to become a part of that fine group. Chairman Randy Calhoon initiated the Buckin’ A Saloon tent to promote folks staying on the grounds for free entertainment and dancing. It has been a big hit. Again, their committee grew. He also introduced the spud gun for some committee fun. Under Layton Morgan’s chairmanship, Rick became Lead Assistant, becoming the third feather in his cap. Rick wanted to be apprised of all committee undertakings which often entailed being out at the park fairly early in the morning to lock up after the show was completely shut down, typically until 2 or 3 in the morning. He also kept track of all the money going in and out and tried to hone in on any unnecessary expenditures. Rick remained a lead assistant under John Tabor, Joe Lopez, Pat Moffitt, and Larry Kehl. In 2010 he was voted as Contract Acts Volunteer of the Year, yet another feather. During that time, Chairman Pat Moffit called Rick the “Godfather” of Contract Acts to which the nickname has stuck. After a few years, when Scott Fleming became Chairman, Rick told him it was getting too much for him to handle and wanted to step down. Scott then appointed Scott Lewis as Lead Assistant. Scott shadowed Rick for a short time; he caught on quickly and has since become our current Chairman.
Rick has been through so many changes and made so many unbelievable friendships and so many memories. He wishes to thank everyone who has been here during the last 41 years. And lastly, another feather, a big one…being voted into the CFD Hall of Fame. Rick would say he has a full headdress.