While most people who sit inside of the Silver Spurs Arena have their eyes on the event, for many of the Silver Spurs Riding Club volunteers, the arena represents a time capsule full of hilarious rodeo clown jokes, action-packed halftime acts, and “leave-you-on-the edge-of-your-seat” rides. As of 2019, the Silver Spurs Rodeo celebrates 75 years of bringing families and contestants from across the world together for the love of rodeo. But, for the Silver Spurs Riding Club, this anniversary signifies a more meaningful accomplishment: 75 years of community service. As a 501(c)(5) non-profit organization, the Silver Spurs Riding Club is proud to give back to its community through various scholarships and donations to other non-profits and organizations.

Like other non-profits, the Silver Spurs Riding Club has a Board of Directors. The Silver Spurs Riding Club Board of Directors is a group of members dedicated to bettering the community through the sport of rodeo. To be eligible to serve on the board, one must be a member of the Silver Spurs Riding Club and go through a nomination process that ends in a vote from the general membership. Each year, the Board of Directors, starting with Law of the Range and working up to Big Boss (equivalent to the President or Director of an organization) do a shift in position. Meaning, each year, the Silver Spurs Riding Club is under new leadership. From July 2018 to June 2019, Chris Fluke had the honor of being the Silver Spurs Riding Club Big Boss. Chris was born in Orlando, Florida in 1979, but was raised in the Kissimmee and Saint Cloud area. Chris originally started volunteering at the Silver Spurs Rodeo while he was in middle school, helping out in Petie Partin’s concession stand, carrying ice buckets to the coke machines. But as Chris grew up, he found other areas of the rodeo he was interested in. While in high school, he started helping move the livestock for both the timed and the roughstock events through a series of pens before and after each rodeo performance. After Chris graduated from Saint Cloud High School in 1998, he joined the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in September that same year. For five years, Chris was an F/A-18 mechanic with Fighter Attack Squadron 122 Crusaders.

In 2003 Chris was honorably discharged from the USMC and moved back to Kissimmee where he continued to volunteer with the Silver Spurs Riding Club. He worked on various committees such as concessions, stock, signs, land, finance, and the Quadrille, and became a member in 2007. In July of 2018, Chris was inducted as the 2018-2019 Big Boss of the Silver Spurs Riding Club. During his year of service, Chris had a few goals he wanted to achieve. The Silver Spurs Riding Club has always been an organization known for giving back, but he saw several opportunities to do more for our community. By watching over the Club’s financial resources, Chris saw how we could make a bigger profit and in turn, make a bigger impact in Osceola County. This year we have presented scholarships to graduating seniors, and donated to both the Advent Health Foundation for breast cancer care, support and innovation and the Wounded Warriors foundation, to name a few. Chris has always been willing to help when and where he is needed for the betterment of the Silver Spurs Rodeo. “Being able to stand in the shoes of some of my local heroes has been an absolute honor this year as the 2018 Big Boss,” says Fluke.

The Silver Spurs Riding Club holds true to their traditions, their family, and their community, and that is what 2018-2019 Big Boss Chris Fluke loves most about the Silver Spurs Rodeo. Can’t wait for more rodeo action? Save the date for Saturday, October 5th 2019 when our 3rd Annual Boots, Bulls and Barrels returns to the Silver Spurs Arena. This one-night-only rodeo event will feature three of rodeo fan’s favorite events: women’s barrel racing, steer wrestling and, of course… bull riding! Tickets will become available for purchase September 1st, 2019 so set the reminders on your phone now so you can guarantee a spot to all the rodeo action this fall.