2014 Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo: Grand Marshal & Rodeo Queen

While Jerry Bannon may have been an obvious choice to serve as this year’s Grand Marshal of the Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo, there’s no way of knowing it by talking with him.

“This is an honor that I would never have thought would come my way,” said Bannon, 66. “I hope to live up to the expectations of those who selected me for this honor.”

Born in Prineville and a 1965 graduate of Crook County High School, the 66-year-old Bannon has spent much of his life in some way involved with the community or the fair. He taught physical education and health for 30 years at John Tuck Elementary School in Redmond. He also coached the Redmond High School rodeo team, which garnered 16 state rodeo titles during its heyday, and volunteered and served on the fair board for 12 years until his retirement in 2012.

Those accomplishments made his selection a no-brainer, said Craig Unger, a retired policeman and current president of the Deschutes County Fair Association’s board of directors.

“We tried to come up with a name of somebody who had contributed to the community and the fair,” Unger said. “We wanted to honor him for the work he has done.”

Bannon’s retirement from the fair board allowed him to refocus on his true passion: music. Since 1984, Bannon has played guitar for the County Line Band with Phil Pierce and Dennis and Jeff Morris. The quartet play country, old-time rock ’n’ roll, and the blues at fairs, conventions and rodeos, Bannon said.

The band has entertained rodeo crowds for years with live music after the day’s activities, said Mike Schiel, a retired school administrator who serves on the fair’s board of directors.

“He’s a heckuva singer,” Schiel said. “He’s been in country bands as long as I can remember.”

During the fair, he will do what he does best, moving around and helping people, he said. He also will open each day of the rodeo by singing the national anthem.

Over the years, the fair and rodeo have become like an extended family for Bannon, he said. Bannon would see many of his former students and look forward to keeping the community involved, he added.

“It’s just the smells – the ambiance of the whole thing,” he said. “That’s what I love about it and the memories of the kids that I grew up with and the adults that you meet and the hard working people who volunteer. They put in a lot of hours.”