Letter to the Editor

Hello,
My name is Chase Studdard and I was born and raised in Gilmer, TX. I have been involved with the Yamboree my entire life so I was curious about the upcoming one. I was looking for some information about the Yamboree and this being the 21st century and all, I went to the first place any good American turns to... the World Wide Web. What I found was at best... childish. Now, being the grandson of Dr. Chester Studdard, it's in my blood to write a letter to the editor and tell you what I think. So, here I am, giving you my two cents.
When I went to the Yaboree website (www.yamboree.com) I had to double check the address bar to make sure that it was correct because it looked like a baby rainbow vomited on what should be the Yamboree's web site. I know to a lot of people this subject seems trivial. But in this day and age, you at least need to be somewhat presentable on the Internet. I continued to search through the website and it only got worse. The link to the bandstand page has a dancing cartoon cow and a cowgirl stripper (no comment). Every link on the page I went to I realized that there just arbitrary pieces of information. There was no theme, no sort of order, only slightly fitting clipart and maybe a time and location (if I was lucky).
I understand that Gilmer is a small town with mainly farmers and kids itching to get out, but that is no excuse. I know that there is a lot of money poured into this event every year, and I don’t think anyone will miss a few hundred dollars to update the website county’s main attraction. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Yamboree spends so much money on other things that they can’t find the extra funds to do this. I have never seen the inner workings of a Yamboree budget meeting, but I'm willing to bet the money is there somewhere. I am currently a student and a musician in the Dallas area and I know of plenty of artists who would be interested in creating a suitable website for the Yamboree.
I'm not sure who is in charge of this sort of issue, but I hope this open letter finds them and they realize that something should be done. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Yamboree. It has been a staple in my life for 21 years. I feel that the future of the Yamboree is in my generation’s hands and that is why I think we should keep Gilmer up to speed with the rest of the world. I don’t mean for this letter to come across rude or harsh, I just want to get my point across and hopefully, keep the Yamborees website, up to par.

Thanks,

Chase Studdard