Three men have will be inducted in the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame 2025 - Gene Allen of Kispiox, the late Melvin (Merv) Churchill of Falkland, and Daryl Mills of Pink Mountain.
The BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Committee announced the selection Friday, April 11, noting a formal induction ceremony will take place at the end of the first half of the Sunday, April 20, performance at the IREA Indoor Spring Classic Rodeo in Williams Lake.
A brief write-up about each recipient was forwarded to Black Press Media.
Gene Allen - Builder of Western Culture Inductee, BC Cowboy Hall of Fame 2025 Category: Builder of Western Culture: A person supportive and or beneficial in the building of Western Culture.
Saddle bronc rider, steer wrestler, rodeo organizer, BCRA president and ultimately rodeo stock contractor are just some of the titles Gene Allen has held over the years. Allen was instrumental in restarting the Kispiox Rodeo back in the 鈥�60s and the rodeo has been going strong ever since. Gene competed in the IRA, NRA, YRCA, the BCRA and in the NARC world finals. His love for good bucking horses led him to begin his own bucking horse breeding program in the Mid 70s which became GJ Rodeo Stock Contractors.
Their quality horses performed in some of the world's largest rodeos, including Houston, TX, Calgary Stampede, Ponoka and Williams Lake over 45 years, winning many championships along the way.
Allen and his wife Joy raised 鈥渃owboy friendly鈥� horses that were genetically bred to buck. Along with raising these great horses, they ran many rough stock rodeo schools throughout the province and took many cowboys under their wings, housing and feeding them to get them started on their rodeo careers.
He served on several rodeo boards, including the BCRA, as a director and president. He was presented with both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rodeo Person of the Year award within the BCRA. In 2022 at the Canadian Finals Rodeo he was presented with the Bucking Horse Legacy Award for his contributions to the Bucking Horse Industry.
Melvin (Merv) Churchill 鈥� Builder of Western Culture Inductee, BC Cowboy Hall of Fame 2025 Category: Builder of Western Culture: A person supportive and or beneficial in the building of Western Culture.
Churchill was born in Vernon, B.C. on Nov. 17, 1941. The Churchill family has managed the Falkland Stampede for most of its 105-year history, beginning with his uncle Homer in the 1940s. Churchill for the 60s though till 1991, Jason, his son for most of the 2000s and granddaughter Melissa for the last six years. He began his involvement with Falkland Stampede in 1955 at the age of 14 when he put on a barn dance in his parents鈥� barn to raise money to build new corrals at the rodeo ground. He competed for a short time in bull riding winning the Merritt rodeo in 1963 and Falkland in 1961.
He left the competition side of rodeo to become rodeo manager in Falkland and continued in a management capacity until 1991. He was still counted on as an adviser until his passing on Nov. 24, 2024. In 1982 the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association named him Committee Person of the Year. He spent two terms as a director on the CPRA board and many years as the B.C. rep for the CPRA. In 2013 he was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal for his commitment to the sport of rodeo and to his community of Falkland and in 2013 was named to the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame in the 鈥淏uilder鈥� category.
He lived his entire life in Falkland on a small ranch and was a local businessman. He was not a working cowboy, nor did he make the majority of his income from ranching, but he was without a doubt a builder of the Sport of Rodeo.
Daryl Mills in the Category: A Cowboy who has done well in Cowboy Sports and contributed to the betterment of rodeo or other horse related sports.
Mills started his rodeo career in 1987 as the BC High School Rodeo Champion in bull riding and bareback, representing B.C. at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Pueblo, CO. The year 1989 saw him as the FCA and NRA Bull Riding Champion in the amateur leagues, moving onto professional rodeo world in the CPRA in 1990.
In his first year he won the Rookie of the Year and the Canadian Bull Riding Champion. He was sidelined in 1991 due to injury, only to return in 1992 as the CPRA Bull Riding Champion and qualifier for the NFR in Vegas. The year 1993 saw Mills again at the NFR winning the bull riding average, falling just $95.26 short of winning the world title. He did win the World Champion Bull Riding at the NFR in 1994. Having achieved his rodeo goals, he retired as a competitor after the 10th round of the NFR. In 2002 he received the PBR Ring of Honour for his contributions to the founding of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Association in 1992.
Almost 20 years after staring out, Mills was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006 for his excellence in rodeo. Mills and his wife Bonnie鈥檚 children have followed in their dad鈥檚 footsteps as rodeo competitors bringing Mills back into the rodeo world and for the past 13 years he has been key in building and growing the BC High School Rodeo Association, holding such key positions as president and national director, retiring in 2024. Mills' rodeo knowledge and integrity have been a huge part of the betterment of rodeo and cowboy sports in BC and will continue to be for years to come.
There will be a brunch for the nominees, their families and friends at the Gibraltar Room in the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex beginning at 10 a.m.
The BC Cowboy Hall of Fame committee includes Lynn Peck, OJ Harris, Ray Jasper, David Ciriani, Joy Allen, Kelly Walls and Patti Gerhardi.
