FUN IN FORT WORTH: DDR DOES ‘COWGIRL CONNECTION’

If you’re not familiar with Cowgirl Connection, it’s a spectacular series that The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame puts on one Thursday a month. They invite speakers of all sorts – often HoF honorees, award winners, or other industry experts – to present to a live audience on their area of expertise or topics tangentially related.

This past Thursday night, it was the tenacious McMullen sisters’ turn to take the stage.

“What a cool thing this is that the Cowgirl Hall of Fame does,” said Cheryl. “It really was such an honor to be invited, and it makes me want to attend all the others! Our audience was amazing, of course, and it was simultaneously humbling and invigorating to be in front of such a great group. We had a great turnout, and I know some of our longtime DDR gals showed up to support, which always means the world to us.”

Cheryl, Hedy, and Audrey presented to a nearly packed house, regaling the audience with the tales of DDR’s origin, the absolute necessity for resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself – and what you risk when you don’t.

“You know, it’s still a little wild to us that anyone is all that interested in what we have to say,” Audrey laughed. “But we have definitely learned a few lessons the hard way in our 35 years as a brand, and sharing that on stage is a somewhat surreal thing. It puts things in perspective of how far we’ve come and all we’ve endured. We’re proud of what we’ve built and we’re not afraid to admit it wasn’t easy, that we made some mistakes along the way. In fact, I think that’s the only thing that makes it a story worth telling, right? What’s the lesson in smooth sailing?”

While polished and professional, the presentation was delivered with the candor and comedy that makes the McMullen sisters so captivating.

“I hope it had as much of an impact on the audience as it did on us,” Hedy said. “Who am I to be on stage at any kind of hall of fame?! I’m still in awe that we were awarded the Mary Jane Colter [Award] and that’s been 10 years ago! Jokes aside, it was a really neat evening and we were honored to be invited.”

Next month’s Cowgirl Connection event features Brandy Elliot Bendele, the current President of the Miss Rodeo Texas Association, Inc. and a former Miss Rodeo Texas Teen and Miss Rodeo Texas Queen herself. The events are free to attend, they simply require you to RSVP due to limited space.