About Us
Our History
History of the Los Charros del Desierto
In 1956 a group of ranchers and local Tucson businessmen got together to go on a horseback ride in Southern Arizona and to enjoy male bonding and camaraderie. Little did they know that this first ride started a tradition that is still going strong and will now be celebrating its 68th ride in 2023.
The Los Charros ride is comprised of a group of men who enjoy the outdoors, riding horses and getting away from their everyday lives. The ride is full of customs and traditions that are being passed on to our new members. The ride occurs in October of each year and is rotated among three different ranches in Santa Cruz County. The ride wishes to thank the Tomlinson family for allowing us to ride on the Vera Earl Ranch and the Jelks family for riding on their ranch. In 2017, Los Charros Foundation acquired the Casa Blanca Ranch southwest of Sonoita and held our first ride there in October 2019.
In the very first ride on October 20, 1956 eighty Charter Los Charros members met at San Xavier del Bac Mission near Southwest Tucson and rode to Nogales, Arizona. Then again on the 25th ride starting on October 10, 1980, one hundred and sixty-two members and guests left Mission San Xavier to retrace their tracks of 25 years ago. They were blessed by Father Celestine Chin who had blessed the original 80 charter members. Today, it is not possible to make the same ride as in 1956 and 1980 because of the population growth and expansion in Southern Arizona.
Our Story
The Los Charros Foundation
The Los Charros Foundation was formed in 2015 as a way for members of the Los Charros Del Desierto to give back to the communities where they have ridden since 1955. The foundation began as a tribute to past president Peter Douglas, whose idea it was to incorporate philanthropy into the Charros membership. After Peter’s death, seven Charros members formed the 501(c)(3) and invited a number of additional Charros to come on board as founding members. Each of the 23 founding members made a $5,000 contribution, allowing the foundation to award its first academic scholarships in 2018. The foundation has since grown into one of Southern Arizona’s leading scholarships programs.
Our board is made up of Los Charros Del Desierto members as well as local community and business leaders. The board has representation including military service, ranching, conservation, finance, politics, law, education, entrepreneurs, sales, healthcare, real estate, construction, graphic design and marketing. The dedication and vast expertise of our board has allowed us to provide mentorship if needed and expand our outreach beyond academic scholarships. We are proud to be able to contribute to high school vocational programs as well as 4-H and FFA programs. A large part of our mission is serving the youth of Southern Arizona in every way possible. We look forward to the future and growth of this incredible foundation with the help of our generous supporters.
The Los Charros Foundation believes in fostering the future of Southern Arizona’s youth as well as embracing an agricultural and rural lifestyle.
Our Impact
Impact of What we Do
From our generous donors and patrons, to the students who can pursue successful academic and vocational futures, we are proud to share the outstanding results the Los Charros Foundation, Inc., has fostered since our founding in 2015. We have awarded scholarships to over 100 youth totaling more than $720,000. The foundation supports scholarships for two-year, four-year and trade and vocational programs across the United States.
The mission of our scholarship program is to assist youth from lower income families with limited resources as well as merit-based youth to continue their education beyond high school.
Our support of 4-H, FFA, high school and community programs has provided direct benefits to more than 100 youth since 2017. We attend three county fairs in Cochise, Pima and Santa Cruz counties and purchase animals raised by youth. The animals are then donated back to the county scholarship programs which allows our dollars to benefit individuals and the group as a whole. The purchase of these animals helps the participants save for their college education and future beyond. We believe these market animal projects teach life skills including responsibility, accountability, marketing, business, and financial management.
This is also why we offer annual market animal scholarships to help youth get started in a county fair animal project with the expense of the animal and feed provided for the duration of their project. These scholarships are awarded biannually for fall and spring fairs.
In addition, we also provide funding to 4-H, FFA, high school and community programs for special projects and events. Since 2017, our support of 4-H and FFA has exceeded $140,000.
College and post-secondary education are costly ventures for all youth interested in pursuing a career. Our scholarship program helps youth who are actively engaged in their communities take that crucial next step. Our recipients have been active role models in their communities, demonstrate leadership skills and understand the value of hard work. We are thrilled to be able to help them continue their education and become contributing members of society.
We actively partner with agricultural and community programs to help spread the word about our scholarship program. We also communicate regularly with academic counselors at high schools across Southern Arizona to ensure a broad range of applicants and opportunities. Through many years of sponsorship, donations and patronage of our annual event, the scholarship programs continue to grow each year serving as many youth as possible in our communities.
Our Board
Board of Directors and Officers
Officers
- Stephen Turcotte, President
- Scott Even, Vice President
- Ian Tomlinson, Member at Large
- Christie Campagna, Secretary
- David Eppihimer, Treasurer
- Richard Bratt, Past President
J.C. Campagna
Steve Eddy
Ryan Farnum
Chris Gronlund
Carrie McClafferty
Hank Peck
Graham Swanson
Abby Delessio
James Even
Dean Fish
Bobby Kern
John Munger
Richard Saldivar
Laurie Swanson
- Kristin Tomlinson, Executive Director
Our Mission
To promote the Cowboy Way of Life, Land Conservation and Youth
Development &; Education specifically in Santa Cruz, Pima and Cochise Counties, Arizona
