Volunteer Crisis Fund
CFD Volunteers First
Our Story
A non-profit organized for Cheyenne Frontier Days volunteers in times of crisis or emergency.
Board of Directors
President
Jeremy Lopez
Jeremy J. Lopez has been a volunteer for CFD as part of the Contract Acts Committee for 19 years and he works as Stage Manager to aid the entertainer’s stage manager with set up and tear down of shows. He is active in other aspects of Contract Acts including being one of the primary operators to pull the stage down track for Frontier Nights’. He is very proud to be on the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Crisis Fund. He started volunteering when the organization was founded in 2007, was elected to the board in 2017 filling the role of Entertainment Director and was selected as President in January 2021.
Family: Wife - Katie; Children - Reagan, and Ariah.
Employment: Wyoming Air National Guard.
Years of Service: 17 years volunteering for the VCF, 7 years on the Board of Directors for the Volunteer Crisis Fund and 19 years as a CFD volunteer.
Interests & Hobbies: Cheyenne Frontier Days, golfing, traveling, quite the foodie (will not turn down a steak), spending time with family and friends, and hunting.
Email: president@cfdvf.com
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Vice President of Organization
Tiffany Hayes
Tiffany Hayes was born and raised in Missoula, MT. She joined the Air Force in 2007 which has lead her to be stationed in Cheyenne, WY. She has been a part of the CFD family for 11 years now. First on the Parades committee and now on the PR committee for the past 6 years. Currently she is the Vice President of Operations for the Volunteer Crisis Fund (VCF) Board of Directors. She has been on our board for the past 5 years but volunteered to help VCF for the past 9 years. She loves that she is able to give back to the volunteers who truly make Cheyenne Frontier Days what it is today.
Family: Husband- Chris; Children- Makenzy, Hayden, Cayden, and Kowen
Employment: WY Air Nation Guard- 243d Air Traffic Control Squadron CSS
Years of Service: 11 years
Interests & Hobbies: Camping, hiking, riding UTVs, and fishing
Email: Vp@cfdvcf.com
Vice President of Fundraising
Cory Castle
Cory E. Castle has been a volunteer for CFD as part of the Public Relations Committee since 2010 and works as a Lead for the PR Chairman. He takes an active role in multiple subcommittees to help maximize the CFD experience for both volunteers and customers. In 2020 he became a HEEL and was recently selected to serve on the VCF Board of Directors in June of 2022. He is proud and honored to serve in this expanded role for the CFD volunteers.
Family: Wife - Stephanie; Daughter – Kaitlin.
Employment: Wyoming Army National Guard, Deputy Director of Logistics
Years of Service: 15 years volunteering for CFD, 2 years on the Board of Directors for the Volunteer Crisis Fund and 3 years as a CFD HEEL.
Interests & Hobbies: He enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, camping, hunting and fly fishing.
Email: vpf@cfdvcf.com
Treasurer
Jack Lyman
Jack Lyman joined the Indian Committee in 1998 upon graduating from Leadership Cheyenne. He was voted Volunteer of the Year in 1999 and elected to the CFD HEELS in 2008. He served as a Lead Assistant for the Indian Committee for several years as well as a variety of other roles. In addition, he served as a member of the CFD RRR (Recruit, Retain, Recognize) Committee for three years. Jack was born and raised in Ten Sleep Wyoming on his family-owned Lazy 8 Ranch. He attended the University of Wyoming receiving degrees in Education and Accounting.
Family: Widowed- Lori Lyman; Children- Malone, Mason, and Blaine
Employment: Controller at Capital Business Systems Inc and CBL Inc
Years of Service: 24 years as a CFD volunteer, 2nd year to VCF Board
Interest and Hobbies: Watching and coaching sports, avid University of Wyoming fan, snowmobiling, skiing, fishing, boating, exercise, and travel.
Email: Treasurer@cfdvcf.com
Secretary
Dana Gage
After leaving the US Navy, Dana accepted a position at FE Warren AFB. Dana quickly fell in love with the area—specifically, its people and its awesome landscapes. Since 2004, he has been a volunteer for both the Security and Military Committees. His current committee duties include RRR, Lead Volunteer Coordinator, and Volgistics Manager. Dana authored his committee’s first Volunteer Handbook, and liaisons with the CFD Strategic Trail Guide to the Future and Operations Committees. Dana has offered his time as event photographer for the last several VCF banquets and has recently been appointed VCF Board Secretary.
Family: Dog – Klaus (the most photographed dog in Wyoming)
Employment: Department of Defense (Retired)
Years of Service: 20 years as a CFD volunteer and 1st year with the VCF
Interests and Hobbies: Hiking and photography. Hiking guide for group hikes in Vedauwoo. Board member for the Cars, Cigars, and Guitars Under the Stars annual fundraiser.
Email: secretary@cfdvcf.com
Director of Organization
Rylee Anderson
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Family:
Employment:
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Email: organization@cfdvcf.com
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Director of Sponsors
Brent Hunter
Brent Hunter is very proud to be on the Board of Directors for the Volunteer Crisis Fund. He has been a volunteer for CFD for 28 years and is part of Operations Committee. He is also a HEEL and a member of the for Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation Board.
Family: Wife, Candy; Children , Trent (Jill), Brant, Eric, Josh (Katie), Austen (Daisha), Ciel (Adrian) and Aries and 8 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Employment: Capital Lumber
Years of Service: 8 years on the Board of Directors for the CFD Crisis Fund and 28 years as a CFD volunteer.
Interests & Hobbies: Cheyenne Frontier Days, Model Railroading, Traveling and spending time with Family.
Email: Fundraising@cfdvcf.com
Director of Donor Relations
Jeremy Lowe
Jeremy Lowe has been a volunteer for CFD as a part of the Rodeo Committee for 10 years. He has worked in the main alley for 9 of those years and is currently the Crew Chief of the Wild Horse Race. He also serves as one of the Rodeo Committees RRR Representatives to help Recruit, Retain, and Recognize new volunteers. He is very honored and humbled to be on the Board of Directors for the Volunteer Crisis Fund. He was elected to the board in 2024 and is excited to get to work with such an important organization and some wonderful people to keep the many volunteers that help put this show on year after year taken care of.
Family: Wife -Tracie; Children – Guy, Brooklyn, Grady, Gavyn, Peyten
Employment: Pacer Energy, Prime Residential Mortgage, Inc.
Years of Service: 10 Years
Interests & Hobbies: CFD, watching my sons travel baseball team, golf, spending time with my family, and horses.
Email: relations@cfdvcf.com
Director of Entertainment
Joe Lopez
Joe has been a Cheyenne Frontier Days Volunteer for over twenty years. He is on the Contract Acts Committee. He was the Contract Acts Committee Chair from 2007 through 2009. Joe was the founder of the Volunteer Crisis Fund in 2007 and has been a part of the organization since.
Family: Joe has been married to his wife, Peg for the past 46 years. He is a proud grandpa of three beautiful grandchildren, Hunter, Reagan, and Ariah.
Employment: Retired
Years of Service: 20+
Email: Entertainment@cfdvcf.com
Director of Marketing
Dawn McDonnell
Dawn McDonnell was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin but Cheyenne has been home for over 22 years. She has been a volunteer for CFD on the Public Relations Committee as a photographer for over 10 years and loves rodeo! She is currently serving with United States Air Force working full time for National Guard Bureau and serving the 153d Mission Support Group as the Strategic Exec. She was appointed to the VCF board in 2022.
Family: Husband- Jim; Children- Schuylar and Delaney
Employment: Region 8, Drug Demand Reduction Program Manager, National Guard Bureau and Mission Support Group Strategic Exec, WY Air National Guard.
Years of Service: 11 years PR member and 2nd year VCF.
Hobbies & Interests: Photography, horseback riding, reading, loves the sun, and spending time outside.
Email: marketing@cfdvcf.com
Director of Auctions
Rashell Rodekohr
Rashell Rodekohr became a director of the Volunteer Crisis Fund Board in 2020. She has been a volunteer on the Cheyenne Frontier Days’ Public Relations Committee since 2019. Rashell was born and raised in Cheyenne Wyoming and has spent most of her adult life here. She is an attorney and works at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming as a Staff Attorney. She loves to be able to volunteer for Cheyenne Frontier Days and for the Volunteer Crisis Fund to be able to help out fellow volunteers.
Family: Spouse - Ryan; Children - Graysen and Payten
Employment: Blue Cross Blue Shield Wyoming
Years of Service: 3
Hobbies & Interests: Broncos football, spending time at the lake (wakeboarding), spending time in the mountains (snowmobiling), and traveling.
Email: Auctions@cfdvcf.com
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Director of Benefits
Bob Symons
Bob has been a member of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Indian Committee since 2006 and was honored to become a member of the CFD HEELS organization in 2013. Bob is from Sheridan Wyoming and is a general partner, along with his sister, of the Symons Ranch Limited Partnership, RLLP. He retired from Sheridan Fire-Rescue Department in 2005 as the Fire Chief and then worked for the State of Wyoming Public Safety Communications Commission for 12 years retiring in 2017.
Family: Wife – Rita; Children - Brian and Erika
Employment: General Partner Symons Ranch Limited Partnership, RLLP
Years of Service: 3 years.
Hobbies & Interests: Traveling, Bicycling, Ranch
Email: benefits@cfdvcf.com
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Director of Events
Aleyta Zimmerman
Aleyta Zimmerman has been a volunteer for CFD since 2014 for the Public Relations Committee. Her duties on the committee include Sponsor Hosting during Cheyenne Frontier Days, and is also the liaison for the multiple committee fundraiser called the Flatiron Steak Fry.
She is the board secretary for the VCF and coordinates the silent auction for the annual VCF Fundraiser. She was appointed to the VCF board in 2019.
Family: Children - Kellan and Kai
Employment: Executive Director of Encore
Years of Service: 9 years as a PR member, 4 years on the VCF board
Interests and Hobbies: When she is not busy with her two children and their activities, she volunteers as the board secretary for Coats for Kids and enjoys traveling, cooking, singing karaoke and home improvement projects.
Email: events@cfdvcf.com