Master Horseman/Rope Expert to Perform at 2000 Cattlemen’s
Ball
Jerry Diaz, a master horseman and rope expert from Mexico, will be one
of the featured entertainers at the third annual Cattlemen’s Ball of Nebraska
to be held Saturday, June 3 at the Haythorn Ranch near Arthur, Neb. Diaz
has performed around the globe and in 1998 was named the “Specialty Act
of the Year” by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
In addition to Diaz, country music artist Ricky Van Shelton will be
featured at the ball. Along with five platinum and three gold albums, he
has had 12 hit singles including “I am a Simple Man,” “Between the Lines”
and “Just as I Am.”
Event activities also will include an art show, live auction, general
store, cowboy poetry, music by the Messengers 4, and a dance featuring
the music of Blackwater. The One Arm Bandit Gang, a family of trick
riders, and the Front Street Crystal Palace Review, an entertainment troupe
whose performance is highlighted by reenactments of scenes from the Old
West, will perform at the ball as well.
The 2000 Cattlemen’s Ball will be hosted by Craig and Jody Haythorn,
Waldo and Belldora Haythorn, and Bob and Sally Haythorn-Mayden of the Haythorn
Ranch, world-renowned as the single largest producer of American Quarter
Horses in the United States and the third largest in the world.
The ball is held to promote beef in a healthy diet and to showcase rural
Nebraska. All of the money raised will stay in Nebraska with 10 percent
directed to health care in the Ogallala area. The remainder of the proceeds
will go toward research projects at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center Eppley Cancer Center.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center received $140,000 for cancer research
from the 1999 Cattlemen’s Ball held at the Robb Ranch near Lexington, Neb.
Specifically, the funding went for the development of new anti-cancer drugs,
the use of new technologies to screen for differences in cancer cells,
and to study the immune system response to cancer cells.
At the 2000 Cattlemen’s Ball, Top Hand ticket holders ($60) may attend
Saturday afternoon and evening activities beginning at 1 p.m. Trailboss
ticket holders ($500) receive a champagne reception, commemorative gift,
brunch and preferred seating for the evening dinner and concert.
Tickets are limited. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact
the Ogallala/Keith County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau at (800)
658-4390.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a partnership between UNMC and the Nebraska
Health System, is a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center
— a distinction held by only 59 centers in the country. Of the nearly
$31 million in competitive, external research grants and contracts awarded
to UNMC in 1998-99, cancer-related research accounted for about one-half
of that amount.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, UNMC’s funding from the National Institutes of Health
increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million. UNMC’s
educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
NHS is the partnership of the former Clarkson Hospital, the first hospital
in Nebraska, and the former University Hospital, the primary teaching facility
for UNMC. The combined hospital is a 685-bed facility and serves approximately
25 percent of the Omaha-area market. NHS operates clinics and health care
centers serving Omaha, Plattsmouth and Auburn in Nebraska; and Council
Bluffs and Shenandoah in Iowa. In addition, NHS physicians operate more
than 300 outpatient clinics in 100 communities in four states. NHS provides
access to tertiary and primary care including world-class specialized treatment
such as solid organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics,
bone marrow (stem cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments.