Meet the Social Media and Publicity Committee

Hi!
My name is Gina Cirimele and this is my first year at Cal Poly. I transferred after two years at the Santa Rosa Junior College. My major is animal science with a minor in ag business. I’m originally from Sonoma, CA and I grew up with exposure to horses but I got mainly involved in agriculture and showing livestock during my first year in high school. I was an active member of Sonoma FFA and Sonoma 4-H. I started out showing exhibition poultry, market swine and then market steers until I graduated.

This is my first year helping with Bonanza and I am excited to be a part of it. I’m eager to see what this year will bring and can’t wait to see what everyone has been working on to get here. The show is right around the corner and it will be here before we know it. I’m looking forward to a fun and very fast month!

See you soon!
Gina Cirimele

What’s up everybody?!
The name’s Anthony J. Pannone. I’m part of the 2011 Western Bonanza Publicity and Media team, and I want to tell ya a lil’ bit ‘bout myself. Was born in California, lived in So Cal but moved to Anchorage, Alaska, when I was nine. Then at fifteen moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where I finished high school. After high school for two years I attended Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas, where I played baseball. Fast forward . . . This is my final year as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly. My major is agricultural science, with a concentration in animal science, and an emphasis in communications, more specifically writing. In fact I love to write, and am an aspiring philologist (one who studies language). While I dub myself a backpack journalist, I’m so much more!

In what seems a previous life, I played professional baseball for the SF Giants organization. After graduating from Seward County I chased my dream to play Major League baseball. For five-and-a-half years I paid my dues in the minor leagues, traveling from here to there and back again. Boy what an experience! I made it all the way to the Triple-A level before succumbing to a shoulder injury. When that happened I faced the decision of my life—whether to continue playing ball or finish college—I chose option B and here I am, neck deep in the awesome world of agriculture. You see, I eat, therefore I care about the who, what, where, why and how food arrives on my plate. That’s right, like you, like everybody on this earth, I’m connected to the farmers who plow, the cows that moo, and the cotton that’s harvested—and if I forgot someone or something then I apologize: Thank You to everyone involved in providing the world with food and fiber.
I look forward to a prosperous Bonanza!

Adios compadres,
A.J. Pannone