SG_USA_August_2020

2020 NATIONAL JUNIOR SANTA GERTRUDIS SHOW THE SHOW MUST GO ON

YAC Took Early Steps to Hold NJSGS

By Micky Burch, Contributing Writer

A post on the 2020 National Junior Santa Gertrudis Show (NJSGS) official Facebook page dated May 3 is one many junior exhibitors and their families waited several weeks in anticipation for: yes, there will be a national junior show this year. New date. New location. About two months before that, in mid-March, the coro- navirus/COVID-19 pandemic paused much of the world. Events scheduled for that time frame were canceled and many scheduled for the coming weeks and months – like the NJSGS – were threatened with cancelation if they were expected to draw a large number of people. Each year, more than 1,000 Santa Gertrudis junior members, their families, sponsors and supporters attend the NJSGS to watch not only the cattle, but also the kids, who compete for scholarships and awards in a variety of youth development activities. The 2020 NJSGS, dubbed “Gerts a Plenty in 2020,” was originally scheduled to take place June 13-20 in West Monroe, La. When the pandemic started to jeopardize those dates, the location was held with an alternate date of July 18-25. As time passed, New Orleans became a COVID- 19 “hot spot” with increasing cases being reported, caus- ing the state government to enforce a growing number of restrictions.

date work. Knowing some events that draw a large

number of people wouldn’t be able to happen under social distancing restrictions, Fulton recommended a

new, shortened schedule and location to the YAC. The committee’s unani- mous vote moved the show to the Four

States Fairgrounds, June 21-25. Along with that came many other decisions, includ- ing canceling the welcome dinner, dance, awards banquet and Survivor contest. “There was no way to predict what the restrictions would be in June, so we chose to eliminate these events,” Fulton says. As hard as those decisions were, everyone agreed on the new schedule, including 2019-2020 National Junior Santa Gertrudis Association President Kalli Kimble, Kingsbury, Texas. “I was a voting member on the Youth Activities Committee and was a part of all the behind-the-scenes action required to move the junior national show,” she explains.

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All the while, Santa Gertrudis Breeders International was conducting business as close to usual as possible, includ- ing holding annual association elections. Suzanne Fulton, Denton, Texas, was elected vice president of the Youth Activities Committee (YAC) April 17. In anticipation of her official position, she had already been considering the circumstances. Fulton was a volunteer leader for the 2018 NJSGS held in Texarkana, Ark., at the Four States Fairgrounds. “They were great to work with and we had established a good relationship,” Fulton says. The Four States Fair management was honoring their reservations, but their facilities were not available during the time the NJSGS was initially scheduled. They sug- gested Fulton consider condensing the show to make a new

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