Turning Tragedy into Triumph
The Love for Chase Hawks
Billings, Montana
Written by Cyd Hoefle
Photography contributed by CHMA
November Issue - 2025
“Chase Hawks was a tough little guy,” Don Cooper recalled. “I met the little tyke when he was about two or three. He was sitting on top of a big ‘ole horse at a branding and wanted down. ‘Help me off this horse,’ he said to me. I was busy and I didn’t know him, so I ignored him. ‘Hey you SOB, help me off this horse!’ I looked around, ‘You talking to me?’ I asked him. ‘Yes, dammit, help me down!’”
Don laughed as he told the story. A tough little cowboy with dreams of being a world class cowboy until a tragic bicycle accident ended his short life.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was just a tragedy,” Don said. “Chase left the yard of a neighbor while they were having a gathering and hopped on a bike that was way too big for him. He headed down the driveway, which had a slope to it and went out onto the main road - right in front of a vehicle. There was nothing the driver could do. Chase came out of nowhere.”
Chase Hawks
Don teared up remembering how the tragedy shook the Blue Creek community three decades ago. “It was really hard on everyone - his parents, the driver, the families involved. No one should have to go through that.”
As the community rallied around the Hawks family. Don and his cousin, Dick Cooper, visited the grieving parents, Howard and Brenda Hawks. “Brenda wanted to have a rodeo in Chase’s memory and give a scholarship to a kid. Without having any idea how to do that, I told her, ‘OK, we’ll put on a rodeo’.”
What began as a tiny seed planted by a heartbroken mother would grow into something beyond anyone’s imagination.
“The Hawks family was rooted in rodeo,” explained Teddi Vogel, current Executive Director of Chase Hawks Memorial Association (CMHA). “Like people in agriculture do when something tragic happens, the community stepped up to help. Since then, we’ve gone beyond just the ag community, but the rodeo is where it began.”
Don laughed as he recalled those early days remembering how little anyone knew about planning a rodeo. “We were determined to do what we could. Right away, I called ten people and set up a meeting. Almost 40 showed up.”
One of the people Don invited was Carol Trawick, a family friend. Carol had no idea that the meeting would change the trajectory of her life and like many of the volunteers, she devoted years to CMHA, and she is still helping today.
Frank Chesarek also attended that first meeting urged by his son, Scott, who was a professional bareback rider. Frank was a visionary and a strong leader and before the night was over, he was appointed President of the newly formed association and Carol was appointed Secretary.
“Frank just had great ideas,” Don remembered. “As we tossed around the possibility of putting on a rodeo, it just grew and before we knew it, someone suggested the Metra. It seemed crazy, but instead of shooting the idea down, we looked into it.”
The Metra wanted $17,000 for the night with an additional fee for moving the dirt needed for the floor.
“It seemed completely impossible,” Don continued. “But at the next meeting, Frank said, ‘Well, let’s get the money together and have it at the Metra then.’”
Glenn and Linda Fink, owners of the Eagle Nest Lounge, offered their establishment for a Sunday afternoon. “Do what you need to make the money,” Glenn said generously.
Board of Directors and Guests at an Early Dinner and Dance
Don offered up his band, Cooper and the Crowd Thinners, to play. A silent auction was held and good will donations poured in. That single event raised enough funding to rent the Metra and produce the first of over three decades of rodeos and fundraising events.
“That’s just how things worked out for us,” Carol said. “When an idea came up and it was a good one, we figured out how to do it.”
With Scott Chesarek’s connections to so many in the rodeo industry, sixty professional cowboys were invited to participate. The rodeo was held the Saturday after the National Finals Rodeo with twenty bareback bronc riders, twenty saddle bronc riders and twenty bull riders competing.
The first year, three world champions and twenty NFR Qualifiers entered the rodeo. Every year thereafter, it has continued to draw the top rodeo cowboys. The timing of the rodeo, just after the NFR and right before Christmas, and the cowboys’ commitment to the mission of the Chase Hawks Memorial is a combination that has proven successful.
“Frank had this idea that to keep the energy going during the rodeo, we’d buck ten bareback broncs out of the chutes at one end of the arena, then buck ten saddle broncs out of the chutes at the other end and then head back to the first chutes and buck ten bulls. Then we’d do it again,” Don said. “It worked! We moved the rodeo along at a great pace.” That format is still used today.
On the night before the rodeo, a dinner, a ‘meet and greet’ to honor the professional cowboys, and a Calcutta was held. Names were randomly drawn to make up twenty teams of three; one from each event, which were then auctioned off to the highest bidder.
“That first year the teams were going for about $500 each,” Don said. “Last year we raised over $290,000 doing the same auction,”
The first year, the rodeo surpassed all expectations with over 5,000 people attending. The “invitation only” rodeo is always held the Saturday after the NFR, often dubbed “The Eleventh Round of the NFR.”
One year the association commissioned a designer to sew wool jackets bearing the Chase Hawks’ logo. It was another idea Frank had that became a tradition.
“We weren’t sure how they’d sell,” Carol said. “But people loved them! I remember walking through the Denver airport on the way to the finals and seeing all kinds of people wearing those jackets.”
Pride in the organization has been contagious from the beginning with loyal sponsors, dedicated volunteers and successful events. This year marks the 30th Chase Hawks Rough Stock Rodeo. In September, it was appropriately honored as the 2025 Great Montana Pro Rodeo by the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame.
Teddi Vogel, Sylvia Gusick, Carol Trawick and Greg Gluckert
Sanctioned as a PRCA rodeo four years ago, the event has a reputation of attracting the top rodeo cowboys and is the largest fundraiser for CHMA. The proceeds continue to benefit Central Montana and Northern Wyoming families in crisis.
“Our sponsors are incredible,” Teddi added. “Some of them have been with CHMA since the beginning, donating tens of thousands of dollars. Without them and our volunteers, we wouldn’t be what we are today.”
Hundreds of families have benefited from the fundraising efforts of the CHMA Rough Stock Rodeo as well as other Chase Hawks events including an annual bike rodeo, trap shoot, car show and various smaller events throughout the year such as bingo and pint night.
“It’s an amazing organization,” Teddi said. “The people we’ve been associated with have been unbelievable.”
Don smiled at Carol as he shared a story about her. “Carol and Frank met each other through Chase Hawks that very first night. They got married several years later.”
“We had twenty wonderful years together,” Carol added. “Frank was an inspiration to many. He gave his heart and soul to Chase Hawks, but he couldn’t have done it without the core of volunteers that started Chase Hawks or the hundreds that have come along since. If we were just starting out today, I’m not sure it could be done.”
It’s the army of volunteers that are credited with the success of CHMA and it wasn’t until the last decade that an executive director and a grant coordinator were hired to help oversee the association. Teddi has been the Executive Director for the last five years, starting first as a volunteer.
Always seeking families in financial crisis, Chase Hawks takes applications for assistance within a 150 miles radius of Billings.
“We help anyone; from the 90-year-old widow that needed a new washing machine to the single mom needing new tires for her car,” Teddi said. “So many families have benefited from our association.”
Grants are available for up to $2500. A committee reviews the needs and the availability of funds for each request.
“Many of the grants go toward helping with expenses that require traveling due to medical needs such as lodging, food and gas,” Teddi continued. “We try to turn over the request as fast as possible and are often the bridge when someone is waiting for insurance or other funds to come in.”
Throughout the years, the CHMA has taken on a life of its own, producing incredible events for the community and touching the lives of families in crisis: honoring Chase by turning a tragedy into triumph.
“It’s been a hell of a lot of fun,” Don concluded. “A bunch of hard work, but the fun - yeah, we’ve had fun!”
