History
Worthy of attention is Larry Phillips motive for founding the rodeo. Phillips had grown up in a time with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Western shows on TV and the Saturday cowboy movies at the old Gem Theater. Also, people of his age had grown up on the farm with cows, mules, horses and other animals. That era was fading from exposure to a younger generation. Larry wanted to preserve for a younger generation a flavor and heritage of the reality of life around the horses and bulls of just a few generations back. So, here we are 34 years after the founding of the Phillips Championship Rodeo with the 2013 Tour. In the beginning, different clubs, organizations and civic groups supported the rodeo in a big way. The Calhoun Optimist Club was the first organization involved in sponsorship of the rodeo. Last year Phillips Rodeo joined forces with Gordon Hospital to spread the word about breast cancer awareness with the