story by Lily Weinacht
Aaron Platt is never lost for words, a quality that has served him well as a rodeo announcer. The 40-year-old from Roanoke, Indiana, says he has a whole deck of rodeo cards, from the PRCA and IPRA to the APRA and MSRA, announcing nearly 45 rodeo performances a year. He announced the AFR for the first time last year at the new venue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, while he has also announced the MSRA finals. “It was a great honor when the APRA chose me to do their finals, and they treated us great. The different venue was a new venture for them, and they weren’t afraid to put a microphone in my hand.”
Before Aaron held a microphone, he had his hand in a bareback rigging, riding broncs for 15 years starting in high school. “I was kind of the first in my family to get involved in rodeo. Maybe the worst mistake my dad ever made was taking us kids to a pro rodeo at the Indiana State Fair,” Aaron jokes. “All it took was a hop, skip and a jump, and I was involved in the world of pro rodeo. I didn’t have a lot of talent, but I had a lot of fun, and I didn’t want to let rodeo go. I was already in the habit of traveling down the road and imitating every rodeo announcer out there. I started announcing rodeos at slack and I was hired by some contractors and it grew from there.”
Aaron rode bareback horses and announced for eight years before he got married and decided to focus on the guaranteed paycheck from announcing. He competed in many of the same rodeos he announced, and since he announced horseback, Aaron would simply ride into the end of the chute and get on his bronc, someone setting the rigging for him ahead of time. “I’d talk until I nodded my head, and then I’d get back on the microphone. I haul my own announcing horses, and I have a pretty good line of steeds. Most of them come from my good buddies, who are pickup men. Big John and Picnic are the main two I use.”
Outside of rodeo, Aaron is a general contractor, having started his business in 1997. “My wife, Bobbie, and I run the business – we build buildings and remodel and have about fourteen employees. Bobbie also runs my music for me when I announce.” Aaron also produces one or two county fair rodeos a year in Indiana. “One is fully sanctioned with the APRA, and the other is co-sanctioned this year,” he says. “I have great committees to work with, and great help. We try to involve all the stock contractors that I announce rodeos for. My wife helps organize it, and we have a lot of fun.”
Aaron and Bobbie also enjoy growing a garden and canning, along with trail riding and traveling. “I like going to a variety of areas, but especially the direction the APRA takes me into Ohio and Pennsylvania and West Virginia. One of the biggest and most memorable rodeos I’ve gotten to work is in Isanti, Minnesota. I’ve worked it two years in a row, and I enjoy the size of it and the committee.
“I’d like to retire from construction someday, and in announcing, I haven’t set my goals on any one association – I just got involved with a bunch of them,” Aaron finishes. “Probably every announcer I’ve heard since I started rodeoing has helped me. I’ve found these kids younger than me using my one-liners and I have to grin and laugh because I did the same thing when I was young. History repeats itself!”
