The Greenhorn Mountain Veterans Association was conceived in September 1948 by Bob Robinson and Hal Duvall. Their first official meeting was held in Hal Duvall's home in Glennville with fifteen men in attendance. They selected Bob Robinson as their first commander, added members, and with 24 signatures on the charter, the making of history began.

Since its inception that fall of 1948, the GMVA has been a non-profit organization seeking to "promote social activity and community welfare" in its community. This aim has taken many different directions over the last 60 years.  From community dances, barbeques, Christmas parties and Easter Egg Hunts, one thing has remained constant, the GMVA Round-Up Rodeo!  Our PRCA Round-Up Rodeo has brought the community together to provide top-quality rodeo entertainment to Kern County for over 60 years. Many rodeo legends have competed in our little arena and the GMVA greatly appreciates all the PRCA has done to help us promote the All-American sport of Rodeo!

Back in 1948, the GMVA hosted their first dance in the neighboring community of Woody.  The net profits of the dance were a mere $301.  From those humble beginnings, the GMVA started three decades of working together to build a community entertainment center.  It was the goal of the GMVA to purchase and build their facilities without the use of tax dollars.  To accomplish this goal, the GMVA held monthly dances, saved proceeds from the rodeo, and in recent years, added a reverse drawing to their fund-raising efforts.  The GMVA has also been blessed by countless amounts of donated materials and labor from the community and local businesses.  So much labor has been donated over the years, it would be impossible to estimate the dollar value.  Many of our members continue to give up their weekends, vacation days, and retirement days to work on our grounds and maintain the facilities.

In October of 1949, the GMVA purchased twenty-three ares from Charles Gann.  Plans were drawn up, and construction started on the arena, which was completed in June of 1950 - just in time for the rodeo.  The arena grandstands were started that same year, but were not completed until 1956.  One year later, we proudly welcomed Cotton Rosser and the Flying U Rodeo Company as our stock contractor for the annual rodeo.  Cotton and his crew have been loyal friends for over 50 years now!   The designs for the Veteran's Hall began in 1953, and the structure was completed in 1961.  In the years since then, the veterans have constantly sought to expand and improve the grounds and facilities in Glennville, building and maintaining all of the structures that can be seen today around the rodeo grounds.

The GMVA has a solid history of community involvement and achievement.  In 1948 and 1949, the young organization took on the Kern County Sheriff Department and was instrumental in having a resident deputy assigned to the Glennville area.  Later, they encouraged the County Highway Department to improve the road between Woody and the Greenhorn Summit; this is now the beautiful State Highway 155.  The Kern County Board of Supervisors worked with the GMVA to establish a county waste facility in the Glennville area, and Glennville's historic fire station has often been the recipient of donations for repairs and new equipment, compliments of the GMVA.  But the GMVA's public service isn't always on such a grand scale.

In 1950, Francis Jones reported to the GMVA on polio insurance and passed out applications to the members.  Today, polio is rare, but new health challenges face the community.  It is amusing to read a copy of the minutes from a 1952 GMVA meeting.  They indicate one member on the sick call list and voting members in attendance approved a get-well card and two packs of cigarettes be sent to the member in the hospital!  The GMVA still cares about the health of its members, but our methods of expressing it have changed a bit.  These days, the GMVA supports such worthy groups as the Thomas Midnight Pewitt Memorial Scholarship Fund and Ranch Rodeo, which pays tribute to a young member of our community whose lived ended tragically and much too soon.  We are also honored to host the Small Miracles Foundation's annual roping each year. Small Miracles is a non-profit organization dedicated to the memory of Lauren Small and uses its funds to fight childhood cancers.  And since its beginnings, the GMVA has been very active in supporting our local blood bank, helping to provide life-saving blood to members of our community as the need arises.  We also are there to support veterans and their families in need, and others who are sick in our community.

Nowadays, our facilities are also used for local school activities and graduations, church and community functions, 4-H activities, junior rodeo, and ropings.  We continue to seek ways to support and honor the veterans of our past, as well as help and encourage our active and retired servicemen of today's military.

Today, the GMVA continues its mission to "promote social activity and community welfare" in the little town of Glennville.  From skydivers landing in the arena to kick-off another rodeo and music videos filming in our bucking chutes, to church programs and community dances, the GMVA has been around to create a safe place for families to come and celebrate the beauty of the Greenhorn Mountains and the legacy of the American West.  It would be our pleasure to have you join us this June as we host the "Biggest One Day Rodeo in California" for the 62nd time.