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Magnuson set to anchor rodeos, demolition derby

By Staff | Jul 31, 2019

Monroe Magnuson will again serve as the anchorman announcing both rodeos and the demolition derby for the Sanpete County Fair. Attendees to the RMPRA rodeos on Thursday and Saturday, Aug. 22 and 24, along with the demolition derby on Friday, Aug. 23, will be guided through all the action and excitement by Magnuson.

About Magnuson

Monroe Magnuson has made a living doing many different jobs in his life, including working as an FSA auditor, convenience store owner, brand inspector, livestock sales manager, graphics designer, cattle judge, equipment operator, veterinary technician, labor force supervisor and a rancher. But of all the career paths he has followed, none drives his passion like the job of announcer.

In 2008, he answered a call from a longtime cattle producer and friend expecting to talk about the cattle business, state of the beef business, politics and kids and such, but the result of that phone call was far different than he had ever expected.

After the regular cowboy banter and ribbings between the two, the caller commented “Monroe, my wife and I have decided you need a career change.”

“I didn’t really know how to react when he said that, so I just asked what he meant,” explains Magnuson.

“My friend explained that they were in a bind and hunting for a rodeo announcer and they thought I should give it a whirl. I am always up for something new and a challenge, so I said okay.”

That first performance was “baptism by fire,” he said, “There were several injuries, and I had no idea how to handle them or explain to the crowd what was going on.”

But the emotional rush was more than Magnuson could predict and he was hooked. For the next three years he became the voice of the “Invitational Rodeo” at Panguitch. In addition, he began booking rodeos anywhere he could convince the rodeo contractors and committees to hire him.

Long back before all this, when Magnuson was five, his father died of injuries incurred from a horse accident on the family’s ranch. “Because my Dad and Mom were in the process of building their cattle operation at the time of my father’s accident and death,” he says, “I spent my youth working with my mother and older brother doing what needed done to make the cattle operation work.”

“I was heavily involved in 4-H, riding club and scouting,” he says, “but I never really had the opportunity to do things like rodeo, although it was something I think I would have wanted to do when I was younger.”

While Magnuson now operates a cattle operation of his own and grew up in a ranching family, rodeo was not anything in which he had ever participated.

“I did the regular chores and duties that every other cattleman does every day caring for his livestock,” he says, “and I also had the opportunity to show and sell beef cattle all over the nation. I loved to watch rodeo.”

He relates, “I remember as a kid going to watch rodeos and soaking everything up about the production and how it could have been changed or what was cool and done well but through all of that, it never occurred to me to be involved in rodeo,” explains Magnuson.

“But after having the opportunity to announce, I became aware that it was a life I would have loved when I was younger, a community that I truly enjoy, and a great opportunity to educate about, and tell the story of a way of life, the cowboy way of life, that I love and believe in,” he said.

“When my father was injured, the community in which we lived rallied around us to make sure we were taken care of,” Magnuson related. “But it was the rodeo community that stepped up to the plate and got things moving.”

The year his father died, the Southern Utah Rodeo Association Finals was scheduled for his home town. The rodeo committee dedicated the finals that year to his father, who was the secretary, and the committee donated all the proceeds to help Magnuson’s mother pay the bills.

“I believe the American cowboy is respected and maybe even idolized,” he comments. “They say everybody loves a cowboy, and if that is so, it is because of what he represents, integrity, grit and determination and a human heart for those in need. That is a story I want to tell.”

Since that 2008 “baptism by fire” rodeo, Magnuson has announced rodeos, derbies, moto-cross and monster truck shows throughout the Western United States.

In 2011, he was honored to be selected as one of three announcers for the National Finals Rodeo of the National Little Britches Rodeo Association (NLBRA) in Pueblo, CO; and in 2012, was selected to announce as the lead announcer at the NLBRA National Finals.

Magnuson has had the opportunity to announce the finals of the Western States Bucking Bull Association in 2014 and has been voted twice as announcer of the year in the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association (RMPRA).

The Magnuson’s make their home in Castle Dale, where he operates a cattle operation, is the laborer supervisor for Emery Water Conservation District, and stays busy traveling to announce rodeos, demolition derby’s and monster truck shows.

He usually takes his family with him on the road, including his wife, Amber, his best buddy and son, Zayne, age 13; and princess Zoee, age nine.

As the announcer of the Sanpete County Fair’s rodeo and demolition derby for the past six years, Magnuson’s goal is to carry the audience through the “story of life” filled with patriotism, defeat, victory, maybe some tears, laughter and fast-paced action as he tells the story of the rodeo cowboy.

“Rodeo fans, whether first timers or seasoned, have spent hard earned dollars on an opportunity to see a show and ride along with the contestants for a few moments,” Magnuson comments. “My goal is to make sure they get their money’s worth.”

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Aug. 22-24, when leaving the arena, those who attend will hear Monroe end the performance with one sentence which he strives to live by and of which he reminds his audience with every performance.

It goes like this, “When we all finally step up to that last pay window, it won’t matter whether we win or lose, but how we made the ride.” That’s a thought that all should consider daily and a message Magnuson strives to relay.

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