By Tim ShirahIn July of 2014 I took the position of being Big Boss of the Silver Spurs Club. I have been a Spurs member for eight years, for six of which I have served on the Board of Directors before being selected for the position of Big Boss. This position is about the equivalent of saying I am either the chairman of the board or the president.The Silver Spurs Club is a nonprofit organization, and our 361 club members serve as volunteers year-round to help with community events as well as with the rodeos. We are very passionate about, and active in, giving back to this community through a scholarship program and donations to other area nonprofits. As Big Boss, my primary duty is to be a liaison between the club and community.Here is an overview of the Spur's annual calendar:In October the Silver Spurs puts on the Silver Spurs Cowboy Classic golf tournament to raise funds for our scholarship program. This takes place the day before we host the first rodeo of the new rodeo season, the Wrangler Champions Challenge. This year, the event will be held on October 3rd. Throughout the year there are nine Wrangler Champions Challenges held at various locations throughout the country. It is a one header rodeo which brings the best livestock and top Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) cowboys together right here in Kissimmee for an exciting, fast-paced, made-for-TV format rodeo.As many people in Osceola County know, February is our big month. We hold our Monster Bulls event, which is followed by three days of our famous Silver Spurs Rodeo. The Osceola County Fair is held adjacent to the rodeo, and due to all of the action we frequently enjoy sold out performances. For over sixty years we have also enjoyed the tradition of Rodeo Day – which means that the third Friday in February is a school holiday and every school in the county is off that day in recognition of the rodeo.This March, we experienced an exciting new event – hosting the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo! In 1975, the PRCA created the circuit system, which divided the country into 12 geographic regions, and allows cowboys to compete in rodeos close to home in hopes of qualifying for their circuit finals rodeo, and ultimately the RNCFR. This enables cowboys with families and/or full time jobs to have the ability to qualify for a national finals rodeo without having to travel across the country. This event will call Kissimmee home for at least the next ten years, and is something you definitely don't want to miss.In April, I had the honor of being the one to award our scholarships to the deserving recipients at the Education Foundation of Osceola County's Annual Scholarship Awards. We receive countless scholarship applications each year from graduating high school seniors who are Osceola County residents, have maintained a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average, and have committed to attending college full time upon graduating high school. A big congratulations to this year's recipients: Hannah Richards, St. Cloud High School; Taryn Howes, Harmony High School; Adalyn Gaston, Harmony High School; and Selena Clair, Harmony High School. Best of luck to them in college!The second Silver Spurs Rodeo takes place during the first weekend of June. This year we partnered with the school district to host the first ever School's Out Blowout, a free event celebrating the start of summer break with bounce houses and games for the kids. Some of the other events that are unique to the June rodeo are the mutton bustin' and the Miss Silver Spurs Pageant, which is where they crown the new rodeo queens who will serve as ambassadors for the rodeo for one year.By serving as Big Boss, I have had the opportunity to represent this club and all of its fine traditions while helping it continue to expand. Along with overseeing different committees and making sure things run smoothly for the rodeos, I have also enjoyed assisting in the Silver Spurs Club giving back to the community. Some of the most rewarding experiences involved giving back to the Florida Hospital in Celebration for cancer research and to Horses for Heroes, a veterans service organization.I've enjoyed my time as Big Boss but now it's almost time for our current Little Boss, Jo Thacker, to move up to this position. The Silver Spurs Club is only going to keep growing in its community presence and gaining more opportunities, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of it for many years to come.Ready to experience your first rodeo? Save the date for Saturday, February 10th for our 7th Annual Monster Bulls where you can watch real cowboys go up against some of the “rankest” and baddest Silver Spurs bulls. Or, join us February 16th through the 18th for the 140th Silver Spurs Rodeo where you can watch seven of rodeo’s traditional events: bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, women’s barrel racing and team roping! Hope to see y’all then!