Callie with Executive Director Kristin Windbigler at the 39th Gathering, Callie’s first Gathering as manager. Photo by Kevin Martini-Fuller
Since the summer of 2023, Callie Greenhaw has steered the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering ship with grit and gumption. Working at a nonprofit organization has its particular challenges, and throwing a week-long event into the mix adds a whole other layer of complexity. But Callie has led the last three Gatherings steadily. Now, she’s leaving Elko to move to Reno full-time to be closer to family and work for an environmental nonprofit. We’re sad to see her go, but thankfully she won’t be too far away, and her roots will always be in Elko.
When Callie became manager, it was a full circle moment. Her grandfather Charles Greenhaw was a member of the steering committee for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985. Naturally, Callie grew up going to the Gathering. She stamped leather with Youth Program Assistant Andy Boyer as a kid, just as kids from the Elko county schools still do.
Her first Gathering as manager was also her first as a Gathering artist. She performed three times with her Basque dance group Txori Baltza at the 39th Gathering, all while making sure the event ran smoothly. It was no easy feat–and not easy on the feet–but she pulled it off, a testament to her mighty organizational skills.
We already miss Callie, and we know artists and members do too. Fortunately, the Gathering pulls managers past and present together again (just ask Brad and Amy!), so you can count on seeing her come January. We’ll see you down the trail, Callie!
