Lone Wranglers

Focus On
Judy Speer: daughter, mother, wife, sister, grandmother.   Those are a given.  What about dancer, caller, cuer, teacher, student?  Or square dance promoter,  publicity committee chair, parade coordinator, web-site manager, newsletter editor/publisher.  Would you believe all of the above and all the while holding down a full time job?  We’ve all heard the saying: “If you want something done, ask the busiest person you know and it will get done.”  That’s our Judy Speer.

What would it be like to walk in her shoes?  How about a sample of her schedule?

Up at 5:00am; off to work by 6:30am; work straight through until 4:00pm (eat lunch while working) - Monday-Friday
After 4:00pm:  Always do dishes left from midnight snacks Phil and now grandson Steven left and pick up after them; maybe start a load or two of laundry (we go through towels quickly); sometimes if it needs to be done vacuum and dust; if it is a lesson night - go over what is going to be taught.  Sometimes make it to the gym for an hour or walk, but hasn’t been able to do that much lately.

Mondays and Thursdays - Leave at 5:45pm to car pool to Square Dance lessons in JC.  Home by 9:30-9:45 then off to bed.
Tuesdays - Watch granddaughter because daughter has study group.  Practice and study what will be taught at lessons on Thursday.
Wednesdays - Visit a 92 year old lady that is homebound from 5:30pm - 8:30pm.  Walk about 3 miles round trip to get in some exercise.  Afterwards finish any laundry that was started or try to look over the next night’s lesson plan.
Friday - Most definitely vacuum, dust, and clean downstairs, get as much laundry done as possible, babysit if daughter has plans.
Saturday - Up at 6:00 (get an hour of extra sleep, yea) vacuum, dust and clean upstairs, try to sort through mess in upstairs office, work in yard if it’s not raining, shop for food, finish laundry, babysit granddaughter - sometimes she stays overnight.
Sunday - Try to sleep in until 6:00 again - depends on if granddaughter spent the night.  Pay bills and catch up on what has been put in upstairs office during the week.  Usually always work on something related to square dance be it lessons, caller school handouts or tapes, newsletters, publicity materials - whatever is happening at that time.

“People don’t realize how much time is needed to develop lessons, practice singing calls and work on patter, especially patter.  I am really on a quest to get as many new dancers as I possibly can and that means conducting lessons more than once a year.  So even though I am not physcially at a dance, my spirit is.”

Judy took lessons with the Lone Wranglers in the fall of 2004.  She immediately became a member and the Messenger for the club along with becoming Computer Liaison for the Special Events Committee for the 57th National Convention.  In June 2005, she was elected Recording Secretary for the KSDA.  She held that position until 2009.  She started round dance lessons with Joyce Juhler in October 2005.  Became an angel and helped with squares, lines and rounds.  Attended Pam Young’s Mini Cuer Seminar and Dana Schirmer’s Kaw Valley Caller School in 2007. Recently she became a member of Junction City’s Buckles and Bows and was elected Publicity Chair.  In her spare time, she took up boxing, clogging, belly dancing.  Now there’s barely time to go walking.

Submitted by Joann Falley