At the conclusion of the 2011 Carbondale Wild West Rodeo Series I have chosen to hang up my microphone. Following the loss of my wife Leslie, after losing her courageous battle with breast cancer, I have chosen to focus myself toward becoming the best father I can be to my son, Jared.

There is no way that I can see myself on the road while he is at home without me and there is no way that I will raise my son on the road. In order to do a proper job at a rodeo I need to focus on the job at hand for a minimum of seven hours each day. I take my responsibilities as a rodeo announcer seriously and I take my responsibilities as a father even more seriously.

This is an easy choice to make.

I will miss my rodeo family and the tremendous people that I've had the opportunity to work with over the last 10 years. I hope to step back behind the microphone in the future but for now, I will be enjoying every moment that I can with my son. He is well on his way to becoming a terrific young man and I look forward to walking with him as he grows into the man that I know he can be.

I look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

May you travel safely, find beauty in each day and have a better day tomorrow than you did today.

God Bless Chris LeDoux!