Cattleman’s Association kicks off 2023 with banquet
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m., the Auglaize County Cattleman’s Association welcomed members to its annual banquet. Held at the Jr. Fair Barn at the Auglaize County Fairgrounds, the banquet included: a buffet dinner provided by Graze On catering; introductory remarks from Association President Charles Sutherland; an update from the queen and princess committee leader; featured speaker Mark Goecke, the Association’s District 4 director; and the announcement of the recipient of the 2023 Cattlemen of the Year award.
“We’ve had a banquet as far as I know since 1989. A group of cattlemen got together and decided to form a group to help support cattlemen and the youth,” said Sutherland. Members of the Association have contributed in many ways to the improvement of barns at the fairgrounds. “Since our group formed, we’ve built a steer barn back in the back [of the Fairgrounds]. We’ve also built a wash rack for the cattle and we’ve put a few fans in the barns, and every year we give away $1,000 in scholarships to exhibitors who have shown in the Born and Raised Steer Show, those who chose beef. We have one to three scholarships each year,” added Sutherland.
The Cattlemen’s Association Banquet, Sutherland explained, is really a reward for the youth involved in raising and showing their cattle. “This is a basically the reward to them for having cattle. The do get to show here at the Fair. By being a member of the Association, they are eligible to show in the Born and Raised Show here at the Fair. We try to give quite a bit
back to them.”
The age range for Association membership and related activities is 9-18 years old. All the cattle shown at the Fair had to be weighed in in December for showing at the Fair in the summer. “Some of [the youth] raise their own livestock, and some of them go out and purchase steer to bring here to the Fair to show,” said Sutherland.
Scholarship applicants must be a high school graduating senior who is planning to further their education, must complete an essay and submit a letter of reference, and must have participated in the Auglaize County Cattlemen’s Association Born and Raised Steer Show at least once in the last two years. There will be three scholarships available in 2023, with winners announced on Sunday evening, July 30, 2023 at the Auglaize County Fair. One scholarship was awarded in 2022. That award winner is currently at college in Bowling Green, Ohio and was unable to attend the event.
Application forms for the Cattlemen’s Queen and Princess were available at Tuesday evening’s event. Applicants must be between 12 and 15 years old, must live on a farm where cattle or beef is produced; or her parents must derive part of their income from the production of cattle or beef; or she must have a beef project in 4-H, FA or FHA. The queen and princess will be announced at the Bornand-Raised Steer Show on Sunday evening, July 30 at the Auglaize County Fair.
The Auglaize County Fair will be held Sunday July 30 - Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.