NOTEBOOK: The Livestock Show is my favorite event
I was asked not long ago what my favorite event in Henderson County is. It only took me the space of a couple of heartbeats to answer: the Henderson County Livestock Show.
I mention it because the 62nd Henderson County Livestock Show starts on Sunday and runs through Saturday, March 25.
I may have grown up a Philadelphia/New Jersey Yankee, but there is something about the bustle of the barns during Livestock Show Week that makes me happy. Some of it is enjoying the part I play in the pageant, but mostly it is the connections I see: between people, families, schools, communities, and a belief in a lifestyle that we need to preserve in a digital age.
As for actually covering the event, that's practically impossible. I'd need five of me working full-time to do it justice. Too many people are doing too many things too often and too quickly.
There are specific highlights I try and get every year. I try and take enough photos to catch the show's mood, and I make sure to work both barns in the back to get a representation of the big and little animals. I have to get photos of the Queen and Princess, and I like shooting the younger students when they are doing the tours.
I usually get a podcast or video interview early in the week with someone connected. Last year, it was my friends from the Extension Office, Carolyn Tyler and Angela Hemphill.
And, of course, the show results. I type, and type, and type. So many results. So many. I am amazed every year at how well the ladies in the show office keep up with everything.
However, the part of the show that is a must-have is the presentation of scholarships on Friday night. That is the heart of the whole thing. Giving kids who have been part of the livestock show a head start after high school.
It's why people I never met -- but who are universally admired by people I respect -- started the show in the first place. For the kids.
So Livestock Show Week. I'm excited.
You can find the schedule for this year's Livestock Show here. And bookmark the page because I will use it as the base for my coverage next week.
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New Chief
The Athens City Council approved hiring Gregory Werner as the City's new fire chief Monday night. Werner is currently the Assistant Fire Chief of Murphy Fire Rescue in Murphy, Texas. He is also an instructor for the leadership development program for the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service in College Station.
Werner is scheduled to start on May 1.
More than 40 candidates applied for the position
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A heads up
I'll be going to the Henderson County Performing Arts Center's ALTY Awards ceremony Sunday afternoon, so I'll have some posts about that.
The NJCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments will be next week, and TVCC is in both. I reported about that on Thursday, but there's much more to come.
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