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B.J. Griffin, |
B.J. Griffin had been a ranch wife and mom, raising four children and helping with the day-to-day chores,
as all ranch wives do. She earned extra money by doing a little leather work in her spare time. Divorced in 2002 after 30 years of marriage, she headed back to school and soon began a full-time business, which involves a range of handcrafted leatherwork.
While a business major at Northwest Community College in Powell, Wy., Griffin needed
to choose a capstone project, a thesis-like final project to create a business plan for
an imaginary company. She fell back on two things she knew: leatherwork and rodeo.
In 2006, B.J. asked her son Jake Griffin PRCA saddle-bronc-rider for a favor...she wanted him
to wear pink chaps at The NILE, the Northern International Livestock Exhibition. Since the NILE Rodeo
in 2006, the handcrafted pink-ribbon chaps Griffin sells have raised nearly $250,000.00 at fundraising
auctions or raffle's to benefit cancer charities.
In November, following the début of the "pink" chaps at the NILE, Jake decided to wear them again
at the Mountain States Circuit Finals in Denver, CO. The chaps were then donated by Leather Design
to be auctioned during the circuit finals with the proceeds going to Lancaster's Barrel Race for Breast
Cancer, it was there they caught the attention of a representative for Wrangler®. The clothing company
is a powerful ally in the Tough Enough To Wear Pink campaign. Two weeks before the National Rodeo Finals
in 2006, the Wrangler® rep asked Griffin to make a pair of chinks for Karl Stressman, who was then an
executive for the company. Griffin burned the midnight oil in order to finish the chinks in time for
Stressman to show them off during the finals. Through that connection, she received the proprietary right
to use the Wrangler® logo on the chaps. Leather Design donates a percentage of the profit from the pink
chap and chink sales to a cancer charity.
Many PRCA rodeo committees have purchased these numbered, limited-edition chaps and chinks
for their Pink fundraisers. Miss Rodeo America 2007 Ashley Andrews rode in a pair of Leather
Design chinks and Miss Rodeo America 2008 Amy Wilson proudly wore a pair of the chaps. A bidding war
during the fund raising auction in Riverton, WY was the highlight of the year for B.J. (See story below)
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| Auctions of pink chaps and chinks raised $61,500 to fight Cancer
at the 26th Annual Fremont County Fair & Rodeo in 2008. The sum raised was largely the result of
enthusiastic bidding by J. D. Barquin of Kinnear, Wy. and Riverton's, Judy Baty.
Barquin purchased the chaps for $31,500 and Baty, of the Sundowner Station Motel & Restaurant, purchased the
chinks for $30,000. The $61,500 will go to the Tough Enough Cancer Support Fund of Fremont County,which helps families
with living expenses relatee to battling cancer.
Barquin gave the pink chaps to 17 year-old Todd Peter, the son of the late DaLynn Peter. Baty donated the pink
chinks to the Tough Enough Cancer Support Fund to be auctioned off in 2009.
The "Breast Cancer Chaps and Chinks" were handcrafted by designer/owner B.J. Griffin of Leather Design. The limited
edition pink-accented chaps and chinks are numbered and display the Wrangler logo. Griffin donates a portion of
her proceeds to Lancaster's Barrel Race for Breast Cancer. See Photo
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| In September of 2008, B.J.
Griffin, owner of Leather Design, began work on a pair of chaps for a 9-year-old girl in College Station, Texas, a Tough Enough rodeo princess who is blind. Tacey Raye Raulerson, has bilateral retinoblastoma, a malignant tumor of the retina.
Yet, Tacey rides a horse, dreams of participating in rodeos and was crowned the 2008 Wrangler Tough Enough To Wear Pink Four States
Rodeo Queen in Texarkana, Ark. Leather Design donated Tacey's chaps. See Photo
You can learn more about Tacey, her courageous battle with Cancer and the many success stories on her web site: http://www.taceyraye.mysite.com
It was through this donation that B.J. and the Raulerson's have become much like family. Tacey and her folks Mike and Tammy follow Jake down the rodeo trail whenever time will let them. Tacey is Jake's biggest fan and even though
she cannot see him ride, she always gives him an enthusiastically big hoot and holler from the stands.
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