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SHADY HILLS - Emily Dickinson they are not.
As "cowboy poets," they recite lines about Florida's past, its environment, and even its livestock to guests sitting on covered bales of hay around a campfire late into the night.
"My slant will always be on history, Florida, specifically," said Doyle Conner Jr. "Mine is literary ferment," joked Mike Lawrence, whose subjects include Cracker cattle, small, tough cows traditionally raised by Florida farmers.
Conner and poet Stephen Moore work for the Florida Department of Agriculture, for which Conner's father, Doyle Conner Sr., served as state commissioner from 1961 to 1991.
Hence, agriculture is also a good subject for the poets' stanzas. "If they eat and think, then they may be interested in that," Moore said.
The men have as much fun promoting agriculture as they do protecting it, they say.
On Oct. 15, they promoted it at the 11th annual Cowboy Ball. One of west Pasco's largest parties, the outdoor gala benefits All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
This year, the organizers traded in their Christmas theme for the Wild, Wild West, and its venue of eight years, the Starkey Ranch, for the Rotary Pavilion at the Concourse. And it worked.
"We feel confident we did equally as well as last year ... there's a very good chance that we did a little bit better," Lisa Richardson, president of the New Port Richey branch of the All Children's Hospital Guild, said of the money raised. Last year, the ball brought in around $92,000.
This year's gala drew a crowd of nearly 550 to the pavilion for dinner by Outback Steakhouse, music by Wiley Fox, Kaitlin Walker and others, and silent and live auctions.
The proceeds will go toward a 96-bed neonatal intensive care unit in All Children's new nine-story hospital that is scheduled to open in 2008. All Children's current NICU only has space for 60 infants.
The financial success of the ball was partly due to its new locale, the New Port Richey Rotary pavilion, which is situated off State Road 52, near the Suncoast Parkway.
The Rotary asks charitable organizations that use the facility to pay only for what it costs to operate it, which Richardson guesses saved them around $5,000.
New Port Richey Rotarians also helped with gala preparations, and many also attended.
"These events make you really happy and proud we're able to do this," said Rotarian Kurt Conover, who attended with his wife, Sandra.
For the cowboy poets, the yearly Cowboy Ball is a natural.
But Doyle Conner Jr. said he will "spread the gospel of Florida history to any group that will listen. They'll be some people here who will dig the history."
Guest Dr. Peter Rossi, who attended with wife Patricia, was one of them.
"The cowboy poets and the traditional is really where it's at," Dr. Rossi said.
Jennifer Stewart writes about social events and personalities in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6231. Her e-mail address is jstewart@sptimes.com