One of rodeo’s most experienced announcers is making his 14th appearance as the master of ceremonies on horseback in the arena for the Gerry Fire Department’s 78th annual PRCA rodeo, which opens on Wednesday, August 2, and continues nightly at 8:00 through Saturday, August 5.
Greg Simas, a California native, is an ex-Marine sergeant, who began his rodeo career with a five-year stint as a bull rider with the Military Rodeo Cowboys’ Association. He got into announcing by accident when the regularly scheduled announcer failed to show and he was drafted to fill in.
From there, his rise to become one of the top announcers in pro rodeo has been spectacular as he now announces more than 100 rodeo performances a year and is only the second announcer from east of the Mississippi to appear at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He has worked as the announcer at the Ram National Circuit Finals in Oklahoma City and at the Dodge Ram First Frontier Finals, as well as the National High School Rodeo Finals. He also announces for the United States Hot Rod Association Monster Jam Tour. He has traveled as far as Australia to emcee the Professional Bull Riders event there.
Simas says he does his announcing from horseback in the arena because it keeps him in the middle of the action where his job is to introduce each event, work with the clowns and the specialty acts, and keep the fans informed. He says he is looking forward to coming back to Gerry because of its great tradition of producing outstanding rodeos for so many years, as this event is now the longest consecutively running rodeo east of the Mississippi.
When he is not on the road, Simas loves to fish, hunt, golf, and work on his Pennsylvania farm where he lives with his wife Jen, a barrel racer and a trainer of barrel racing horses, and their two sons. Additional information about him may be found on line at www.gregsimas.com.
Painted Pony Pro Rodeo of Lake Lucerne is returning as the stock contractor and will be bringing more than 125 head of stock to Gerry where more than 200 pro cowboys and cowgirls will compete for $50,000 in prize money in the traditional eight rodeo events, which include saddle and bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and the ever dangerous bull riding. A free kids' rodeo is set for 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.
Also featured are the famous beef barbeque dinners with beef cooked outdoors for eight hours over wood fires and served with all the trimmings from 5:00 to 8:00 each evening in the air conditioned dining hall. In addition, the midway has more than 20 vendors with everything from cotton candy to fried dough and Western wear.
The rodeo website www.gerryrodeo.org is available for additional information, or rodeo fans can call (715) 985-4847 or 1-888-985-4847 with questions or to order pre-sale tickets which are available at a reduced rate through Sunday, July 30.