The normally crowded field of Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Queen candidates dwindled this year, with only three confirmed entrants in the 2007 campaign, according to event organizers.

The final deadline for entering the 60-year-old contest is March 11, said Queen Committee Chairman John Glines, so there is still time for local organizations to put forward a candidate.

The queen campaign has been a tradition of the Elks annual rodeo weekend since its introduction in 1947. So far, the queen contest has raised $9,874,176 for youth recreation on the Central Coast - and is poised to top $10 million in 2007.

Three local groups confirmed to be participating in the event this year are Boys & Girls Club of Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley Elks Youth Recreation and Guadalupe Kiwanis Club.

Young women from around the Central Coast have participated in the contest over the years, holding fundraisers in the hopes of raising the most money to win the crown. Every dollar raised counts as one point in the competition.

Last year saw a dip in the number of contestants to six, representing various groups in the North County. In 2005, seven candidates participated, and from 2002 to 2004, eight candidates competed annually.

“(Groups) are having a hard time finding support and help to put these campaigns on,” Glines said.

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Over the six-week campaign, it takes hard work and commitment by both the candidate and the club sponsor to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to win, Glines said.

Last year's winner, Morgan Stevenson and her sponsoring group, Santa Ynez Elks Youth Recreation, raised $274,356. The Santa Ynez Valley's candidate has won the crown for the past 10 years.

With the prospect of only three young women in the running, Glines would not comment on whether it would affect the competition's bottom line.

“I don't want to predict what any of these groups are capable of doing,” he said. “There is a lot of support for the queen campaign that may be picked up by another organization.”

Over the years, the number of queen candidates has ranged between seven and nine, but a few years brought as many as 11, according to a history of the Elk's Rodeo and Parade compiled by Ted Scott.

For the past five years, the United Black Student Union has entered a candidate, but this year the group is taking a hiatus after the death of a key committee member in December, said Angie Bolden, one of that group's organizers.

She added that the United Black Student Union plans to return next year.

Neither the Cuyama Exchange Club nor Your Orcutt Youth Organization, two frequent competitors, has offered a candidate this year, Glines said.

The lack of candidates this year may be due to the time commitment it takes for a successful campaign, Glines said, not a drying up of local funds.

“Community involvement has seen an increase in the last three years,” Glines said. “People are more aware of the campaign and where the money goes.”

Glines, who has been involved with the queen campaign for years, noted “it takes commitment from an organization, commitment from the young lady willing to give up six weeks of her life to help her community - and good ol' fashioned asking for money.”

The queen campaign kick-off dinner is slated for April 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 1309 N. Bradley Road. The 2007 Elks Rodeo is slated for May 31 through June 3, with the parade down Broadway on June 2.

For more information on the rodeo, see the group's Web site www.santamariaelks.com.

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@lompoc record.com.

February 20, 2007