(Photo Coming still)

Who are you? How old are you? Are you married/single/kids? What is your job title? 

My name is Val Reneau and I am 41 years old. I live in Cushing Oklahoma and I am married with two children. My wife is a nurse at a nearby hospital. I have an 18 year old daughter that just graduated high school this year, she was active in FFA. She was very successful at showing cattle and goats. My son is 12 and has been wrestling for 8 years already. He is ranked 3rd in the state for his age and class, he is also enjoys LL football which I help coach in the fall. Other than my children, my hobbies are rollers and weightlifting.  I work shift work for an oilfield pipeline company.  I work as a terminal operator and a licensed electrician.

How long you been raising rollers? Explain your experience. 

This is my third time back into the rollers.  I raised them as a kid for about 7 years, then in my early twenties for about a year.  I then was urged to take it up again about 2 years ago.  I picked up a few birds here and there as I really hadn’t done a lot of research before then.  It didn’t take me long to know there was a lot out there after discovering the rollers online.

I live in a town with an ordinance against raising pigeons, but there doesn't seem to be a problem as long as no one complains. I spend a lot of time keeping things clean and orderly so they don't become an eyesore. So far my neighbors all seem to enjoy watching them fly.  I hope and pray that I can continue to stay in the hobby from now on. My children are at the age where they don't require so much attention anymore, and other than my weightlifting, nothing else really interests me except raising and flying my rollers.

How would you describe your passion for your rollers and your outlook for the future?

Recently, I got to go to my first competition fly, which so happened to be a WC fly here in Oklahoma and it was at Ferrell Bussing's.  I met some other flyers from my state and had a great time! Strange thing is that after talking to several of the locals in my area I found out that most are already flying birds down from birds based off Dave Henderson’s birds, small world huh? LOL I am looking forward to spending as much time as I can around them and someday soon, hopefully, I will be competing with my own kit.

The birds that I am currently flying are 6 months old and younger, so its not fair to say which are my favorites and discuss qualities.  Hopefully, I can share that info later in a future newsletter.

How do you get your roller information fix? (NBRC mag etc… or on the internet?)

I have joined the NBRC, NPRA, OPRA, and now the HFRF as an associate member.  If I am not working or outside with the birds, I'm on the internet looking and searching for info on rollers.  I am active on the Roller-pigeon.com, the NPRA, the NBRC, and the Slobberknockers forums.  I get news letters from all the clubs I'm in and am always searching for new roller websites.  The internet is a very important tool with this hobby and sport if you use it right.

What kind of rollers are you working with? (family or strains) tell us about your favorite roller(s) and their qualities?

I have three main families going right now; the Turners from Bob Mcguan and David Strait,  some Higgins blood from Gary Stephens in Washington, and now birds from Joe Urbon / David Henderson. I have kept them separate and have a triple kit box. I have almost filled each box with a different family, and will spend as much time as it takes flying them to see which family works the best for me. I will get rid of the rest and focus on one family to learn as much about them and how to manage them as best I can. Hopefully, some day, not to far off, I would like to compete!

Do you regularly associate with any roller fanciers or local clubs?

I am just getting active in the area I live in, hopefully as I get more involved I will participate more in this coming year.

How did you become a part of the HFRF? Do you enjoy our website/news letter?

I first contacted Dave Henderson due to getting some birds with a DH on their bands, after talking to Dave and Joe I found out they weren’t Dave Henderson birds but instead were Danny Horner birds.  The HFRF news letter has been great.  After getting some late hatch birds from Joe in 2006 he led me in the right direction to becoming an HFRF associate.

If you could give one bit of advice on what you would tell a newer fancier to get going in the right direction what would this advice be?

Well beings I am new in this sport myself to the competition part of this hobby, I probably shouldn't give advise to any other newcomers about this part but the biggest thing I would say is to be patient, do a little research and try to obtain birds from a reputable flyer and get the best they can let go of.   I would really avoid collecting a bunch of different families of birds like I did at first.   Ask questions and get to know the guy you get the birds from, pick their brains for knowledge and show them you are serious.  Ask a lot of questions and you will get a clear understanding of what you need to do.

I would like to thank Joe U. and Dave H. putting me on the right track and making me an associate member of the HFRF. I always enjoy the newsletter, and am looking forward to reading articles on the other members and their birds in the future.  So far they have been very interesting and informative to me.  I have talked to Joe and Dave several times on the phone and they treat me with respect and always seem to make time for me with their busy schedules.  I look at them as great people and true friends to me and this sport.  Hopefully, I will be sporting one of the HFRF hats here in OK very soon and will wear it proudly!