PRO RODEO ANNOUNCER                                                                   CLIFF GILLAND                                       It is believed that rodeo was born in 1864 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, Colorado to settle an argument over who was the best at performing everyday ranching tasks.  That gathering is considered to be the first rodeo and it started the evolution of the true American sport and, as proclaimed by President George W. Bush when he was Governor of the State of Texas, the “Official Sport of Texas!” Announcers are the “Voice of Rodeo,” calling the action and keeping the fans informed of all that is going on, as well as working closely with the rodeo clowns/bull fighters and specialty acts during the rodeo to help generate excitement and enthusiasm for rodeo spectators and sponsors. Cliff Gilland’s rodeo career began nearly four decades ago when Cliff rode bareback horses and roped calves and steers at the high school level.  But, along with his desire to compete, he realized he had an interest in announcing as well.  “I decided I could probably talk about it better than I could do it,” says Gilland, and so he began his announcing career. For over 15 years, Cliff Gilland’s fun-filled tone, quick wit and extensive knowledge of rodeo, has made him one of the most sought-after Pro Rodeo Announcers in Texas rodeo today.  Cliff announces approximately 30 rodeos a year and spends about 4 to 5 hours preparing for each performance.  According to Gilland, “The easiest part of my job is the actual announcing of the rodeo.”  But all the hours Gilland puts into preparing for the rodeo, combined with his voice, his knowledge of the rodeo events and cowboys and his entertaining delivery of all this has certainly paid off for him.   “My job is to entertain the spectators, give the sponsors their money’s worth and pump up the contestants,” says Gilland,” and he certainly has the resume of doing just that:  2000 & 2003 UPRA Rodeo Announcer of the Year,  2x’s X-treme Bull Riding Tour Announcer of the Year,  Horns & Hooves Announcer of the Year,  American Novice Horse Association Finals Rodeo Announcer,  PRCA & PBR Announcer,  YRA Finals Announcer  2004 Bell County Cowboys and Cowgirls Ring of Honor Announcer of the Year 2005 United Professional Rodeo Announcer of the year 2006 United Professional Rodeo Announcer of the year 2007 United Professional Rodeo Announcer of the year as well as considerable experience as a radio and television broadcaster and writer of a monthly article for “The Cowboy Sports News” on rodeo promotion. Today, Gilland makes his home in  Ardmore, Okla. and when he isn’t announcing rodeos, doing radio or television commercials for Sport Quest International TV, or calf roping (yes, he still ropes and even has the desire to go back to riding bareback bucking horses again) he’ll probably be found working horses, roping, being with his daughters or fishing. If you would like to contact Cliff Gilland, please call him at 979-492-0197 or send him an e-mail message to Cliffgilland@yahoo.com.             “Cliff, I think you did an outstanding job with the UPRA Rodeo Finals.  You prepared very well and it did show.  I really believe we had the best finals ever, and the hard work and dedication you put into this rodeo was a huge part of that success.”            Jerry Hill, General Manager            United Professional Rodeo Association “ Cliff Gilland is the best rodeo announcer that we have had announcing at our rodeo in the 60 year history of the rodeo.”                                                                            The 60th annual West Rodeo Committee