Photo by Gary N. Miller / Sisters Country Photography

For 35 years, R.L. Garrigus has stood on the sidelines announcing the Sisters Rodeo Parade. This year, the celebrated radio broadcaster is at the head of the parade as the rodeo’s Grand Marshal.

“R.L. has done so many things for us, especially as our volunteer parade announcer for so many years,” said Tom Crowder, past director of the parade, who nominated Garrigus.

“I was a Radio Ranger with Ralph McNulty at KICE beginning in 1979,” Garrigus explained, “and Ralph, who was the Sisters Rodeo Parade announcer, invited me along. McNulty finally said, ‘It’s all yours,’ and I’ve been there since. It’s fun.”

The outdoorsman with a heart as big as Central Oregon finds fun in many acts of assistance.

In 2004, Deschutes County Commissioners and Bend City Council declared Jan. 22 to be R.L. Garrigus Day. That same year, he was admitted to the Oregon Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. His studio is full of professional and volunteer awards and banners, including a Klondike Kate trophy from Bend Fire Department.

As an expression of thanks for his volunteer efforts, Sisters Rodeo awarded Garrigus a commemorative buckle during the 70th annual Sisters Rodeo Parade.

Garrigus is part of Bend Radio Group, where he serves as news director and public affairs director at KSJJ, ESPN, KNGX and Power 94. His voice has been part of the Central Oregon radio scene since 1974. He has the most recognized voice in the territory, and one of the most familiar faces.

The enthusiastic volunteer announces three other rodeo parades: Crooked River Roundup, Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo and Pioneer Frontier Days in La Pine. He is the voice of the Bend and La Pine Christmas Parades and the Redmond Starlight Parade.

Garrigus has served as master of ceremonies at the annual Bend Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation dinner for 28 years and in John Day for 22 years. He calls the Great Drake Park Duck Race and has voluntarily recorded public service information releases for the Ronald McDonald House of Bend.

The fifth generation Oregonian was raised in Hillsboro. His great-great grandfather guided settlers through the plains on the Oregon Trail and homesteaded in Buxton.

“He kept journals of those years, but they were lost when my grandmother sold the land,” he said wistfully. “All we have left is the conch shell that was blown to call those pioneers in for dinner on the trail.”

With his family, Garrigus fished the Tualatin River and hunted in Sweet Home and John Day. He and his brother, Tom, became accomplished Trap Shooters, the competitive sport that energized him. His brother won a Silver Medal in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

“I competed in International Trap Shooting for the Air Force and in the Pan Am Games, but I was never as skilled as my brother,” Garrigus said. However, Garrigus did win the Oregon Junior State Championships in 1969 and 1970.

Garrigus used his G.I. Bill funds to get a degree in broadcasting. A year later, he moved to Bend.

“The Bend population was about the same as Hillsboro’s was when I left for the Air Force, at around 16,000 residents,” he said.

Garrigus is married to an artist, Kathie. Their daughter, Lacey, her husband, Tim, and three grandchildren live in Medford.

The family hiked the Pacific Northwest, from the Desolation Unit east of Bend to the Mount Rainier wilderness. When they have free time, this is still the preferred lifestyle of the radio wizard and the artist. Tumalo and Paulina creeks are favorite local treks.

“When I die, however, my ashes are going to Desolation, where the wildflowers are beyond compare.”

Having a conversation with Garrigus is as natural as sitting next to a friend by a creek with a fishing pole. His brilliant blue eyes are offset by a mane of white-gray hair and that burly mustache. His gentle persona and interesting stories draw people into telling tales of their own.

Garrigus is a platinum professional in the world of broadcasting, with the bonus of being a truly soft-spoken humanitarian.

— Courtesy Bonnie Malone, Sisters Rodeo