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HEBER CITY — A “legend” of the Utah rodeo community got a surprise Friday night as he was honored for more than three decades of announcing.
J. Brent Kelly has announced the Utah High School Rodeo for 31 years. In July, he’ll be inducted into the Utah Cowboy Hall of Fame in Ogden.
On Friday, Kelly was honored for his years of service during the Utah High School Rodeo Association finals. He said the organizers did a good job keeping it a secret.
“This is something that is so special and so meaningful to me, and it will be something I remember for the rest of my life,” Kelly said.
His rodeo involvement started at Brigham Young University, where he was on the rodeo team. He competed in bareback riding and calf roping events for several years.
He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and competed on the rodeo circuit for several years but couldn’t make enough money, he said. Then, in order to earn a steady paycheck but still be involved in rodeo, he decided to become an announcer.
“I fell in love with announcing,” he said.
Kelly has also announced the National High School Rodeo Association finals for many years. He taught as an elementary school teacher for six years before starting a career as a seminary teacher in Heber City. He also has been an auctioneer for 45 years, and he owned a livestock auction business in Spanish Fork.
Kelly’s son, Jason Kelly, said just about everyone in the rodeo community knows his dad.
“He’s a living legend when it comes to the sport,” Jason Kelly said. “His voice is known all across the western U.S. when it comes to rodeo.”
He has always been enthusiastic about rodeo and the western way of life, Jason Kelly said.
Brent Kelly said he loves to keep the audience excited about rides and events. The rodeo should be fun, and entertaining families keeps it that way, he said.
“The excitement in my voice penetrates the excitement in the crowd also,” he said. “It permeates that excitement for everyone.”
Two of Brent Kelly’s sons have announced rodeos, and another was a rodeo clown for several years, he said. Now, his granddaughter was named Utah’s rodeo queen and is headed to the national rodeo finals.
“It’s kind of been a family tradition, and hopefully, they will carry on that tradition after I’m gone,” he said.
Young people who are thinking of getting involved in rodeo should remain good ambassadors for the sport, he said. There is sometimes a negative connotation with the rodeo community, he said, but there are also lots of incredible people.
“Stay true to yourself,” Brent Kelly said. “There are some wonderful people in the rodeo business who are outstanding and upstanding members of the community and people that are just wonderful ambassadors of the sport.”
