Sean Gleason

“This means a tremendous amount to me, especially to be nominated on a night that Michael Gaughan receives the award,” Gleason said. “I got to call Michael and tell him that he was receiving the Jim Shoulder Award, and I told him I’ve got good news and bad news. ‘The good news is that you’ve won the Jim Shoulders Award. The bad news is you’re going in with me.’ But it is a distinct honor to be nominated with Mr. Gaughan. He’s done so much for Western sports. “But this award, really, I’m accepting this award on behalf of every staff member, every stock contractor, every independent contractor, every member of our TV crew, every one of these bull riders.” Following Jim Shoulders’s passing in 2007, his wife Sharon gave Gleason a painting of her late husband that he decided to hang in his office. “I decided that it’d go right here, to the left of my desk,” Gleason said. “And it’s because I wanted Jim Shoulders to be looking over my shoulder for every single decision I made in helping the lives of bull riders and helping to grow this sport. And he has every day since she gave me that painting.”