Cowboy Ted encourages healthy living
By Michael Shinabery Staff Writer
Ted Hallisey was a high school jock in the late 1970s. His sport was rodeo.
"I fell off and broke some bones. I fell off more bulls than I rode," he says.
Like many in sports, reaching for tobacco was an unconscious habit.
"It was commonplace," he says. "The coaches were using."
He's been tobacco-free for seven years.
Five years ago, the award-winning teacher, PRCA-credentialed radio broadcaster and print journalist, and rodeo announcer chose to convince kids not to do what he'd done.
"I decided to step forward and be a role model," he says. "A lot of us decided that we wanted to step forward and kind of walk the walk that we're asking these kids to do."
He created Cowboy Ted, started the Cowboy Ted Kids Club as part of earning his master's degree, and the Web site www.cowboyted.com. He's working on getting two children's book's he's written, published. And, he tours the country talking to youth. On Wednesday he was in Cloudcroft, brought to Otero County by Children In Need of Services.
"Remember, if somebody offers you drugs, what would you say?" he asks the room full of students mesmerized with the cowboy mystique.
"No!" is their enthusiastic response.
"Do you think I can rope a bull as well if I was using drugs or alcohol?" he asks.
"No!"
Then he talks about his experiences.
"It's kind of dangerous to be a bull rider so I'd rather teach you how to rope," he says.
Cowboy Ted bases his eight-point program around rodeo because a bull rider's goal is to stay atop the animal for eight seconds.
"We teach them how to rope and use mainstream cowboy techniques to try and get their attention. Then we take them over those lifestyle concept," he says.
The points promote physical, mental, emotional and social development. They are respect parents, lead a healthy lifestyle, work hard in school, be nice to others, be kind to animals, set goals, use no drugs, tobacco or alcohol, and do one nice thing for another daily.
He emphasizes that chew tobacco is no more safer then smoking. His message? Don't start.
"You know what happens the first time you use tobacco and alcohol? You throw up," he says. "You know what happens when you try to quit? You throw up again."
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids cites 36.2 percent of New Mexico high school students smoke.
Every year, 3,600 kids under 18 pick up the habit. At home, 103,000 are exposed to secondhand smoke. The tobacco industry spends $15.4 billion a year nationwide to keep people lighting up and chewing, $75.3 million of that in New Mexico. CTFK states "research studies have found that kids are twice as sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults .. and that one-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributable" to advertising.