Cowboy Sale-A-Bration Event Planned Saturday, July 26 at Rod’s

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Rod’s Western Palace Celebrates National Cowboy Day, July 26, 2008 Cowboy Sale-A-Bration Event Planned July 26 at Rod’s in Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH–June 1, 2008—Rod’s Western Palace will celebrate National Day of the Cowboy on July 26, 2008 with a Cowboy Sale-A-Bration event featuring activities for the whole family in honor of the American Cowboy, including a horse parade.Rod’s, along with our partners, which include: 92.3 WCOL, Autumn Rose Farm, BKW Drywall Supply, Cashman’s, Deb Little Photography, Delaware All Horse Parade, Mounted Police, Ohio Cowboy Mounted Shooters, Ohio Quarter Horse Association, Quaker Steak & Lube Restaurant, Smoke Rise Ranch, Mighty Oaks Lil Peanuts and Wild Bill’s Outlaw Rodeo, is hosting an even bigger cowboy cool event this year.The National Cowboy Day event kicks off with a parade starting from Rod’s Western Palace located on Silver Drive at 9 a.m., July 26. Columbus Mounted Police will escort the entourage of horses down Silver Drive to Hudson to Indianola and back to North Broadway, returning to Rod’s for the Cowboy Day festivities. “We celebrate the cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The cowboys’ love of land and love of country are examples for all Americans,” said President George Bush, July 18, 2005. Rod’s Cowboy Sale-A-Bration is packed full of family fun activities to celebrate and educate visitors on the subject matter of the “cowboy” by giving back to its customers with free educational seminars and demonstrations. Horse and pony demonstrations and rides, face painting and a coloring contest – where everyone is a winner – round up the children’s activities. During the celebration, Rod’s will be cooking up a hog roast along with a cookout consisting of hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, cake and more. Additional festivities will include Columbus radio station 92.3 WCOL with Joe Boxer and live entertainment featuring the Smilin’ Valley Riders of Urbana. Rod’s plans to give back to the community by helping raise funds for the Mighty Oaks & Little Peanuts Therapeutic Riding Academy, a non-profit, no-charge equine assisted physical therapy program. Located in Wheelersburg, OH, the program allows children with cerebral palsy, Autism, and other physical and mental disabilities to experience a sense of freedom and movement on horseback that has other wise denied them. 92.3 WCOL with Joe Boxer, Quaker Steak & Lube Restaurant and Rod’s Western Palace are hosting the “Cowboys, Trucks & Karaoke Finale” on Cowboy Day at Rod’s. Final contestants from the next eight weeks at Quaker Steak & Lube will compete in a karaoke shoot-out for the crown. “The National Cowboy Day Sale-A-Bration is our way of saying thank you to our loyal customers and to the cowboy, who we celebrate every day at Rod’s,” said Scott Hartle, President of Rod’s. “We are showing our appreciation by having a great sale with fun activities honoring the American Cowboy.” The event kicks off Saturday, July 26 at 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. It will be held at the Rod’s store located at 3099 Silver Drive, Columbus, Ohio, near the intersection of North Broadway and I-71. For further details, call Rod’s at 614-268-8200. The National Day of the Cowboy campaign, a campaign asking for a national day of recognition for the Cowboy and Cowgirl, was conceived by magazine publisher, Bill Bales. Bales believed that the men and women at the core of our western heritage should be honored and recognized for the substantial contributions they have made and continue to make to American history and western culture. In November 2004, Mr. Bales asked Bethany Braley to organize and lead a formal campaign seeking a resolution in Congress which would officially recognize a “National Day of the Cowboy.” For more information on National Cowboy Day, visit www.cowboyday.com, www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com or Rods.com. Rod’s Western Palace is a leading retailer and catalog company for western clothing, show apparel, tack, home accents and gifts. Rod’s provides their customers with unprecedented service, selection and quality through their national and international catalog as well as their retail store in Columbus, Ohio. Visit Rod’s online at www.rods.com.

Rod’s Western Palace Celebrates National Cowboy Day, July 26, 2008

National Day of the Cowboy Backgrounder

The National Day of the Cowboy campaign, a campaign asking for a national day of recognition for the Cowboy and Cowgirl, was conceived by magazine publisher, Bill Bales. Bales believed that the men and women at the core of our western heritage should be honored and recognized for the substantial contributions they have made and continue to make to American history and western culture. In November 2004, Mr. Bales asked Bethany Braley to organize and lead a formal campaign seeking a resolution in Congress which would officially recognize a “National Day of the Cowboy.” Ms. Braley contacted a former colleague in Washington, D.C., who advised her on the steps which needed to be taken when pursuing a senate resolution. She subsequently contacted senators, representatives, state governors, individual sponsors, and numerous western oriented organizations and associations, for the purpose of garnering support for the initiative. She also developed a petition which was posted on the American Cowboy website, on sponsor websites, and circulated at numerous western themed events. An enthusiastic sponsor was soon found in Wyoming’s U.S. Senator, Craig Thomas. Senator Thomas, with the aid of three of his congressional staff members (Cynthia Reed, Cameron Hardy, and Matt Jones), enlisted the bi-partisan support of six other senators; Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), James Inhofe (R-OK), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ken Salazar (D-CO.) and Mike Enzi (R-WY). Together they co-sponsored Resolution 85, which was introduced in the United States Senate on March 17th, 2005. This original resolution was subsequently modified, eliminating a second National Day of the Cowboy from its text. The new resolution became Resolution 138, which passed in the Senate on May 12th, 2005, naming July 23, 2005, the first official National Day of the Cowboy. The final National Day of the Cowboy resolution, Senate Resolution 138, was sponsored by Senator Craig Thomas(R-WY), and co-sponsored by Senators Burns (R-MT), Inhofe (R-OK), Dorgan (D-ND), Crapo (R-ID), Salazar (D-CO), Enzi (R-WY) Allard (R-CO), Baucus (D-MT), Allen (R-VA), Stevens (R-AK), Martinez (R-FL), Bingaman (D-NM), and Craig (R-ID). A few days prior to July 23, 2005, President Bush sent his letter of support for the National Day of the Cowboy to Senator Craig Thomas. “From the early days of the western frontier, cowboys have exemplified integrity, courage, and the American spirit of adventure,” said President George Bush, July 18, 2005. “Their legacy is passed on and immortalized through the songs of Gene Autry and the art of Frederic Remington, the performances of Annie Oakley, and the films of John Wayne. Today, cowboys and ranchers continue to embody the values of hard work and determination that built our country. They are stewards of our land, and their efforts are essential to conserving our Nation’s resources and advancing our prosperity.” “We celebrate the cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The cowboys’ love of land and love of country are examples for all Americans,” said President Bush. The 2008 National Day of the Cowboy campaign asks that July 26, 2008, be proclaimed the fourth annual National Day of the Cowboy. If the fourth Saturday in July is proclaimed by the Senate as the National Day of the Cowboy several years in a row, the Judiciary Committee will consider naming the fourth Saturday in July as the National Day of the Cowboy in perpetuity. A National Day of the Cowboy declared in perpetuity is, of course, the ultimate goal. For more information, please visit www.rods.com, www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com and www.cowboyday.com.