MRA Hall of Fame

Judy Gremillion Gill began her career in rodeo by becoming a member of the National High School Rodeo Association in Louisiana. In 1968 she was the State Champion Breakaway Roper. While attending Northwestern State University, Judy’s roommate was Nelda Robinson, the 1970 National High School Rodeo Queen. Little did she know that her own career in the rodeo pageant world was about to begin.

Judy has been involved with the Miss Rodeo America Pageant for the past 42 years. One highlight of her career in 1990 was being elected the first woman President of Miss Rodeo America, Inc. During her tenure, she has seen many changes including the official affiliation with the PRCA and a significant increase in scholarships awarded to each contestant. Judy is the current National Director for the State of Louisiana and serves on the Executive Board of Miss Rodeo America, Inc.

Over her tenure with the Miss Rodeo America Pageant she has served on every committee. The first year she attended the Miss Rodeo America Pageant was 1980. The organization was formerly known as International Rodeo Management. As MRAI President in January 1992 she saw the organization become reincorporated in the State of Colorado as Miss Rodeo America, Inc.

She has judged the Miss Rodeo Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota & Utah Pageants as well as the NLBRA Royalty Competition, the NHSRA Queens Contest 6 times and the 2009 Miss Rodeo America Pageant.

Judy’s home is in Sulphur, Louisiana. She has served for 20 years as Merchandising Manager for various western retailers and for the past 24 years she’s been employed with Turner Industries. Judy has two daughters and seven grandchildren. In her spare time she enjoys watching her grandchildren raise and show pigs.

A member of the Miss Rodeo America family of volunteers since the early 1980's, Deborah Dilley has made the MRA organization a very large part of her life. She competed in the Miss Rodeo Colorado Pageant and later served as the Colorado pageant director and as a MRA National Director. Deborah attended her first MRA Pageant in 1985 in Las Vegas, NV, where she worked on the horsemanship committee. She was thrilled to be placed on the MRA National Advisory Council in 1994 and served in that group proudly until 2013. In 2013 Deborah was chosen for the inaugural class of MRA Gold. In 1997 she volunteered as a MRA Pageant chaperone and has worked happily in that capacity ever since. She helped write the chaperone handbook and keeps it updated. Deborah’s goal from the beginning has been to provide contestants with one of the best weeks of their lives and to maintain a professional and fair competition. In 1998 Deborah was privileged to be on the founding board of the Miss Rodeo America Scholarship Foundation and held a position on that board until 2019. With the help of volunteers and sponsors, Deborah can say with pride that the Foundation grew from $10,000 in the coffers to over a million dollars during her involvement. One of her biggest goals--to give a scholarship to every pageant participant—was realized. One of her passions is to preserve historical knowledge of MRA by designing and updating a database of all the MRA Pageants participants, judges, board members and winners of various awards. Deborah shares this database with MRAI, continues to research and obtain MRA’s historical information. For 26 years, Deborah proudly served as a Denver Police Officer and finished her career as a Commander in charge of 190 officers overseeing downtown Denver. Because of her “real” job as a police officer, she has advised MRAI on safety concerns. She watches for safety issues during the MRA Pageant and presents a safety talk each year during the Royalty Seminar. She is happily married to Jim Palermo, Jr. and resides in Lone Tree, Colorado. Her other interests revolve around traveling and rodeo. She enjoys trips world-wide and currently volunteers at her local county fair and rodeo. Deborah personally feels that it is rewarding to be a part of an organization that encourages young women to celebrate their agricultural and rodeo roots, promotes higher education and fosters the attainment of personal potential. Over the many years she has enjoyed seeing the changes and exponential growth that takes place with the MRA Pageant and contestants.

Sheri Arkoosh has been involved with the Miss Rodeo America, Inc. organization for over 40 years. She has served three different decades on the Miss Rodeo America, Inc., Executive Board of Directors. Starting with the original Incorporation; International Rodeo Management, serving as Director, Secretary, 2nd V-President, 1st V-President, and is currently a Gold Member of the Miss Rodeo America National Advisory Council. She has Chaired or Co-Chaired nearly all pageant committees, and currently is the Chair for Impromptu Speeches and Judge’s Chaperone. In 1978, she started helping with the Miss Rodeo Idaho Pageant, a few short years later she became the Miss Rodeo Idaho Pageant Coordinator and the “State Director” to Miss Rodeo America. Throughout this time, she served as Secretary, State Director, National Director, Vice-President, President and is currently the President of Miss Rodeo Idaho, Inc. Within this timeframe, she moved to Florida for six years and was instrumental in revitalizing the Miss Rodeo Florida Association, serving as President. She has helped guide Miss Rodeo Idaho, Inc., into the successful scholarship pageant and program that it is today. Sheri is a native of Idaho, born and raised in Kimberly where she grew up on a working farm and ranch with her brother and sister. Her Dad was one of the first Rodeo Cowboy Association (RCA) members at its inception, rodeo was a part of her upbringing, participating in Little Buckaroo Rodeo, High School Rodeo and Amateur Barrel Racing. When not traveling to rodeos, Sheri and her siblings were competing at Horse Shows. Sheri lives in Nampa, Idaho with her husband Jim. They have two grown children, Jennifer, and Alex, and two grown brothers from Croatia. Vedran and Neven came to them as exchange students in high school and became a part of her family. Vedran and his wife Valerie, granted them with their first grandbaby two years ago. Sheri is a Real Estate Professional, the 2013 President of the Caldwell Board of Realtors, 2015 Realtor of the Year and year after year, Top Producer in Idaho. In 2018, she was inducted into the Idaho Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Tracy Damrell got his introduction into the rodeo queen world in 1997 when he joined the Miss Rodeo Colorado Committee and within a short period of time was deeply involved in the Miss Rodeo America Organization. Colorado selected him as their National Director to MRAI from 2001 to 2006.He continues to support the MRC Pageant as a Turquoise Club member and helping out where he is asked. He has served on many of the MRA Pageant committees starting with hanging banners and signs to working with the judges during the pageant. Tracy served on the MRAI Executive Board for 12 years starting in 2003.He served as MRAI President from 2007 through 2012.During that time he helped guide the pageant move from the Orleans to it’s long time home at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip. For the past two years, Tracy has stepped into a new role serving as the official pageant emcee. He was made a Gold Member of MRAI at the conclusion of his time on the Executive Board.Always willing to help-out and pitch in wherever and whenever needed, his dedication to the Miss Rodeo America organization has been a consistent force over the last 18 years and it continues to this day.Tracy is the Senior Manager of Sports Medicine for Banner Health / North Colorado Medical Center and the Director of Sports Medicine for the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley .He has also been a 30+ year volunteer and program associate for the Justin Sports Medicine Team assisting with sports medicine coverage for PRCA cowboys at rodeos in Colorado.His wife Barbara was a 25+ year member of the MRC Executive Committee and now serves as a chaperone for the MRC Pageant. She is also a NAC member of MRAI.