Shelley Goldbeck, DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster) is a professional writer, speaker and entertainer. She was raised on a mixed farm/horse ranch near Red Deer. She discovered Cowboy Poetry in 2015 and has since published a book and a CD of cowboy music and poetry.
Shelley was among the Canadian performers who opened for Suzy Bogguss at the 2018 Montana Cowboy Gathering in Lewistown, MT. She has been the EmCee for the Willow Creek Cowboy Gathering since 2017 and at other gatherings, including Trail’s End in High River, the Chinook, MT Gathering, the inaugural Medicine Hat Cowboy Poetry and Western Music Show in 2019 and also in 2020. For four years Shelley published the Barbwire Dispatch, the official newsletter of the Alberta Cowboy Poetry Association.
Shelley took up the mandolin and performed at over 70 shows in 2019, including the Federal Historic Site, Bar U Ranch Canada Day celebration. She routinely seizes opportunities to sing with other musicians.
Shelley’s career spanned many fields including sales, marketing and Human Resources. She has volunteered for a number of organizations including Toastmasters, the Alberta Cowboy Poetry Association and the Willow Creek Cowboy Gathering. She currently uses the skills she’s learned from her experiences to build her “empire”, a consortium of businesses that include publishing, performing, videos, speech coaching and business services.
Medicine Hat Cowboy Poetry Foundation 