COMMENTARY Getting in 'show-shape'

TERRIE GONZALEZ

The Will A. Lewis Exposition Center in Jacksonville has never looked better than it does now.

For the 59th time, a legion of volunteers, youth, parents, friends and even inmates with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, spend months prior to the Cherokee County Jr. Livestock Show to get ready for the big day.

Each year the improvements stack on top of the new additions made the previous year. Last year the hog pens were completely rebuilt and re-welded, and like a birthday cake, a fresh coat of paint provided the icing.

This year, goat pens were rebuilt, repainted and repaired for all the Billies, Nannies and Kids that moved into the quarters for three days.

Also new this year is a set of overhead lights in the foyer where the horticulture exhibits are displayed. What better way to see the TLC carefully worked into the potting soil of these 23 plant entries?

I walked through the exposition center with my photographer's spectacles, and I felt so proud of the community for supporting this event.

Kiddos from 13 different 4-H and FFA clubs from all over the county met one another last week and competed in horticulture, shop and animal events.

But it was a friendly competition, and you could see new friendships forged over the common interest that participants shared. I watched a teenage boy and a girl, both with T-shirts revealing that they belong to clubs from opposite ends of the county, and they were enjoying pre-show chit-chat.

Everywhere I looked, I saw happy faces and big smiles as more than 366 youth came together for an annual tradition.

And for a moment, I felt a little old. I've attended livestock shows for more years than I care to count, and I realized how few people I recognized.

But that is what's so cool about the mechanics of the livestock show. As a group of kids (and their parents) grow up, they are replaced with a new crop of kids (and their parents) who step forward to make the show the best it can be, and to make sure the show barn is better this season than last.

It would be impossible to assign kudos and credit for the many hours of work that was performed this year to make the livestock show a success. My 10-gallon hat is off to all the folks who worked so hard this year to keep a Cherokee County tradition vibrant.

These kids represent our future, and they are learning important life skills through their participation.

Kudos would not be complete without commending auction buyers, who dug deep in their pockets to purchase plants, shop projects and animals totaling more than a quarter-million dollars.

Next week, this newspaper will publish a 32-page souvenir magazine that captures the memories that were made during this three-day event.

With each new generation that leaves a mark on the annual livestock show, it just gets a little better.

Congratulations to the volunteers who supported the livestock show,