OklahomaHorses Magazine January 2023

20 OklahomaHorses • January / February 2023 DIRECTOR’S CHOICE Jeff Medders Is Inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame by Leigh Ann Matthews | Photo courtesy of Jeff Medders O klahoma native Jeff Medders was among the 2022 class of inductees in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Muse- um’s Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in November. Since 1955, the National Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Rodeo Historical Society have honored great competitors in rodeo and its related professions with a two-day weekend event. Medders, president and general manager of the Cowboy Channel and president and CEO of Geronimo Productions, received the 2022 Director’s Choice Award. Presented by the Rodeo Historical Society, the award recognizes individuals in exceptional circumstances. Medders’ dedication to the western lifestyle spans more than 30 years in the western media business. He has been the television host for the Pro- fessional Rodeo Cowboys Association Pro Rodeo and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada. He hosted the American Quarter Horse Association’s magazine show, America’s Horse, for 15 years and has hosted and produced the Cinch High School Rodeo Tour for more than 10 years. Medders’ company, Geronimo Productions, has produced many of the top western sports in the industry, including the National Finals Rodeo, Champion Bull Riding, and the Cinch High School Rodeo. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Medders was named a 2014 OSU College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumnus. He worked with Al Jerkens at Tulsa’s KJRH-TV and spent 13 years on thoroughbred racing and other western programming with Tulsa-based Winnercomm. Jeff Medders, president of the Cowboy Channel and Geronimo Productions, was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in November 2022. He received the Director’s Choice Award.