By Adam Eisenbarth
The hard work is about to pay off for 4-H members of the Rimbey, Bluffton and Winfield clubs.
The Rimbey Interclub 4-H Show and Sale is May 16 and 17 at the Rimbey Agriplex.
“This is what they work for all year. They raise these steers, they start in October with them, they weigh them and the kids feed them all year and do record books,” says beef leader Ken Buist.
On May 16 the individual clubs will have their shows and on May 17 there will be an interclub show with a grand champion named and a sale at 7 p.m.
Alice Stewart, general and craft leader, says it’s a big day for the members.
“It’s time for the kids to show what they’ve learned, how they’ve taught their calves. A lot of times these calves end up being like pets for them. It teaches them showmanship so that they can go on to other things.”
The Rimbey club has about 15 members, and Buist says it’s a good way for young people to learn some important skills.
“4-H has been around for years. It’s hands on, they get to raise their own calf and the big part is they run meetings and they learn how to run a proper meeting with a president and a chairman and secretary and treasurer and they learn that structure and they’re in charge of organizing their year with events.”
Aside from raising calves there are a number of opportunities for members.
“There are camps they can go to, there have been exchange trips, also there’s bursaries and scholarships through different colleges for 4-H alumni members. The kids get to meet a lot of different people and they can learn a lot.”
The club learns management and leadership skills along the way.
“They do some social events, some fundraising events and donate money back to the community. The money they get for the calves is kind of the reward for doing their project for the year and of course they have to pay their expenses with it.”
4-H members are aged 10 to 21 years old and Stewart believes that a lot of young people would enjoy the club. “If the word gets out I think more kids would actually enjoy it.”
On Sunday, May 16, club shows will take place throughout the day.
Monday, May 17 will be a busy day with sheep class and team grooming going at 9 a.m. The interclub female classes and steer weight classes are at 12:30 p.m. The championship class will go at 3 p.m. with supper at 5 p.m. Award presentations follow at 6:30 p.m. and the sale will be at 7 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event. The show will take place outdoors if the weather co-operates.