KCKL 95.9 FM Radio personality Chris Quinn obviously likes challenges, and he is a champion for people who overcome obstacles.
He stumped for the Henderson County Black Rodeo Association's Juneteenth Celebration at the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce meeting April 10.
"I'm the only white board member of the Black Rodeo Association," Quinn said. "We are going to have a Juneteenth Rodeo, and it is going to be the biggest and best one ever."
The rodeo will be the third annual event to be staged by the Black Rodeo Association at the Henderson County Fairpark Complex. Saturday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. Other Juneteenth celebrations will accompany the rodeo.
Quinn said staging the rodeo is a challenge, but the effort is succeeding. "You would be surprised how much resistance we see in some communities," he said.
About 300 cowboys took part in the rodeo last year. The festivities included calf-roping, bull-dogging, crowning of the Rodeo Queen and the "longest line dance" in the county's history, according to the Athens Daily Review.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, and it is the oldest national black celebration. It dates back to 1865 when on June 19 Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston with the news that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were free.
The announcement in Texas came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that became effective Jan. 1, 1863. The order was not enforced in Texas until the arrival of Union troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in April of 1865.
Quinn also talked to chamber members about the importance of establishing face-to-face relationships with customers. "They come in because they like you," he said. "Facebook is not a substitute for good customer relations."
Abdul Abdin, owner of Floors4U, sponsored the April chamber event, and Quinn noted Abdin's involvement in the community and his attention to his customers' needs had allowed him to succeed on Cedar Creek Lake.
Abdin, who immigrated from the Middle East with his family as a teenager so his father could seek critical medical care, said his first job was at a car wash. Then he worked for a flooring company before opening his own business.
Abdin recently staged a fifth-annual customer appreciation day, serving guests Middle Eastern food, wine and entertaining them with music.
Abdin also has been active in the community helping raise money for research to treat patients suffering fromFriedreich's Ataxia, a progressive neuromuscular disease.
Abdin introduced Natali Newman, who suffers from the disease, at the chamber meeting. Newman said she is losing her ability to walk without assistance, but she remains optimistic.
"I'm going to stay strong because I know they are going to find a cure," Newman said.
Quinn praised Newman for her positive attitude, and he said everyone should follow her example and be inspired to make the best of their lives.
"Life is an unplanned picnic," Quinn said. "You can enjoy it or complain about the ants."
