The Clovis Rodeo Association honors lifelong rodeo volunteers, Jim and Carole Linenbach as Grand Marshals of the 110th Clovis Rodeo set to take place April 24-28, 2024.

Jim and Carole will each be presented with the Grand Marshal’s traditional cowboy hat and belt buckle during a reception in their honor the last week of April. Watch for them leading off the Clovis Rodeo Parade that begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

2003    Betty Mouliot

2004    Les Sassano

2005    Wayne William Rohde, Sr.

2006    Wilbur Plaugher

2007    Tom Sample

2008    Stan King

2009    Bob Robinson

2010    Bill Hedrick

2011    Floyd “Doc” Buchanan

2012    Buster Ford, Denny Denton, Corky Dunbar

2013    Vern Barkman

2014    All Surviving Grand Marshals

2015    Bob Kennedy, Jim Call, Orville Hefley

2016    Harry Armstrong

2017    Jodie Simpson

2018    Earl Hall

2019    Larry Cowger

2020-2021    Joe Billalba †

2022    Larry Parker and Brian Avery

2023    Susan Frantzich & Judy Hedrick

† Due to the COVID pandemic, the rodeo was canceled in 2020.

Jim and Carole are so grateful to have grown up in Clovis where they have so many friends and family. Their parents were John and Beryl Linenbach and Clayton and Anne Pendergrass. Jim and Carole started school at Weldon Elementary and graduated, in 1964, from Clovis High School. They then attended Fresno City College and Fresno State. This year they will celebrate 50 years of marriage.

Carole taught at Cole, Tarpey, and Temperance-Kutner Elementary Schools, and then joined Jim at Linenbach Auto Parts here in Clovis. Jim like his 3 sisters, worked there as a kid and all through high school. He left to serve in the United States Army in 1967 and returned to the Auto Parts store in 1969. He took over the family business in 1983. Jim and Carole have (combined) over 60 years in the Clovis Rodeo Association and have worked on various rodeo committees. They are proud to present a scolarship to each year’s Clovis Rodeo Queen. Jim served as a CRA Director from 2001 to 2006. He followed in his dad’s footsteps again chairing the Clovis Rodeo Golf Tournament with the Clovis Kiwanis Club for over 25 years. (The proceeds benefited the Clovis Hospital Guild.) Through the years, as now, the Linenbach’s have been so fortunate to work with such great teams of dedicated volunteers.

Jim and Carole continue to support the Clovis High Cougar Foundation. (”Once a Cougar, Always a Cougar!”) They have been members of the Clovis Hospital Guild for over 50 years, and Jim has been a member of the Clovis Kiwanis Club for over 47 years. Jim has served on the Clovis Cemetery District Board of Trustees for over 20 years. He was in the Clovis 20-30 Club, and both are members of the Clovis Big Dry Creek-Clovis Historical Society. Carole is a member of Soroptimist of Clovis, and both were inducted into the Clovis Hall of Fame in 2009.

Carole and her brother’s grandmother was in the original Clovis Women’s Club, who were the early pioneers, that led the way to our ”now” Clovis Rodeo that started as the Clovis Horse Show and Festival Days. Early Festival days included horse-races, baseball games, and a street dance, (along with the parade). Carole’s Dad, Dr. Clayton Pendergrass, was a Director of the Horse Show and Festival Days along with his brothers Travis and Dr. James Pendergrass. They were part of the team of Clovis community citizens who in 1940, purchased the existing Clovis Rodeo Grounds from Southern California Edison Company who had obtained the land in 1919. If only they could see the event now!

Jim and Carole looked forward to attending the Clovis Rodeo each year with family and friends. A highlight was having Wilbur Plaugher come to their grammar school each year and talk about the events of the rodeo. He even brought his animals for a special presentation! Many childhood friends were part of his specialty act where about 100 kids escaped from his Volkswagen Bug in the arena. The parade has always been another highlight. It now includes making signs for many parade participants beginning with Jim’s dad’s Shrine Band in the early ’70’s. They love that all of the Clovis Unified School District (Intermediate and High School Bands) bring wonderful music to the Clovis Parade each year.

Jim and Carole are so humbled to be in the company of the previous Grand Marshals and are joined by kids Shelley, Lilian, Terry, Pam, and Granddaughter Kate in celebrating this wonderful event.  All of the family is very grateful for this most treasured honor-!