Famous Rodeo Announcer Chad Nicholson Passes Away In Tragic Accident
on May 21, 2019
A True Rodeo Icon
If you’ve followed the radio scene for the past 26 years, then Chad Nicholson is someone who needs no introduction. But his life accomplishments are still worth noting.
Since 1993, Nicholson served as an announcer for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, or PRCA. Over the course of his nearly three-decade career, he announced at rodeos all over the U.S., typically working over 100 rodeos per year.
https://twitter.com/Trendingblizz/status/1130104125872627712
After drumming up a great deal of respect in the rodeo community, Nicholson was asked to serve as the emcee for the 2015 ProRodeo Hall of Fame induction ceremony. More recently, he was the emcee at the 2018 PRCA Awards Banquet.
But Nicholson wasn’t just a rodeo announcer. His unique and recognizable voice helped him land a number of voiceover roles through the years on radio and TV.
Have you ever seen an advertisement for the dating website, FarmersOnly.com? Nicholson is the person who serves as the liner voice and the voice of a talking dog in some of the site’s most well-known advertisements.
On top of being a beloved rodeo announcer and voiceover star, Nicholson was a husband to his wife, Jennifer, and a dear friend to many.
Gone In An Instant
Nicholson was spending time with his friends in Woodlake, California on Friday (May 17) for an annual get-together at a cabin in the area.
According to Nicholson’s friend, rodeo clown Robbie Hodges, the bunch of men who gathered at the cabin spent the afternoon playing cornhole, sharing songs on the guitar, and just having a good time. Midway through the day, one of the men left to go make a call, and he had to drive six miles down the road to get a signal.
When the man came back, he said that his truck slid off of the muddy road and got stuck. A post Hodges wrote on Facebook details the tragedy that struck mere moments later.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206092309344093&set=a.1137956426439&type=3
At first, a couple of the other friends went to help the man with the stuck truck, while Nicholson and Hodges stayed behind. But after 10 minutes passed, Nicholson decided to head down in his Jeep to see if he could help.
A couple hours later, two of the men came back on an ATV and shared the tragic news. There had been a horrible accident, and Nicholson was gone.
https://www.facebook.com/PRCAProRodeo/photos/a.184335124449/10157202219289450/?type=3&theater
How Did This Happen?
As Hodges explained, Nicholson had hooked his Jeep to the front of the stuck truck, which was wedged between two trees off the side of an embankment. But the pressure to move the truck was too great, and one of the straps that Nicholson used snapped.
Nicholson’s Jeep was shot backward and had little space to stop before the embankment. It ended up flipping over the bank once, and Nicholson was partially ejected before the car rolled over him.
“This accident wasn’t a bunch of drunk friends out raising hell. It was Chad being Chad and jumping in to help someone as usual,” Hodges wrote. “It was just a terrible accident.”
Gone, but not forgotten ❤🇺🇸❤
I'll miss you until we meet again 💔@nicholson_chad pic.twitter.com/nx9lKBcp9c— Lorraine Worth (@LorraineAWorth) May 19, 2019
Fund Established To Help Jennifer
Nicholson died while trying to help a friend, and now, his friends are joining forces to help his wife Jennifer in her time of sorrow.
A GoFundMe was established in Nicholson’s honor, with all donations going to Jennifer to help her pay for her husband’s memorial expenses. Hodges confirmed that the fundraiser is the real deal, writing on Facebook, “This is a legitimate go fund me. Il (sic) stake me reputation on it.”
https://www.facebook.com/robbie.hodges.16/posts/10206096055757751
If you’d like to honor Nicholson’s legacy, you can do so by contributing to his GoFundMe via Hodges’ post above, or by clicking this link here.
Our hearts go out to Nicholson’s wife Jennifer and his many friends during this sad time. May he rest in peace.
