142. Rodeo Retrospective: A Look Back At How the Okeechobee County Cattlemen's Association Has Raised Scholarship Funds And Multiple Generations of Florida Ranchers; with Seth Louthan and Dudley Kirton

This Labor Day weekend will find Okeechobee abuzz with both locals and our urban coastal neighbors eager to take in yet another rodeo experience in one of Florida's iconic arenas - one of the few remaining outdoor, uncovered, and privately owned venues. It's a piece of Florida history and a solid slice of Americana. The rodeo is the largest fundraiser for the non-profit Okeechobee County Cattlemen's Association and it affords the association the ability to give back primarily to the youth of the community, but to others as well. The rodeo is held biannually - once in spring with The Speckled Perch Festival and again in September as the Pete Clemons Memorial Labor Day Rodeo. This week as Hurricane Idalia bears down on the Big Bend and North Florida, I sit down at the Okeechobee Cattlemen's Arena with fellow OCCA officers/board members to discuss our memories of growing up around the rodeo, how it's shaped us as leaders, and how it helps our community on so many levels.