May 2011 - Charolais Banner

GUEST EDITORIALIs CCYA Worth It?Cam SparrowI got involvedin the Juniorprogram throughmy family’sCharolaisinterest. When I was twelve, thefamily attended the SaskatchewanCharolais Association Picnic andJunior Show at Beechy. I wasintroduced to other Charolais juniorsfrom across the province and becamefriends with many. The next twoJunior Shows and Provincial Picnicswere held at Floyd Glass’s near PrinceAlbert and at the Deroo family farmnear Unity. I attended these notbecause my famly wanted me to, butbecause I felt I had to be there and bepart of the industry.My strongest memory of the BeechyJunior Show was of the showmanshipclass. Dale Norheim was the judgeand I was intense and keen. In hiscomments he called me cocky and I’venever forgotten it. I never reallyunderstood what he meant and had toquestion my parents about it later, butit was good to hear. It made me thinkabout what I was doing.When I was in my twenties, becausethe junior age was 25 then, I attendedan American Junior Show in 1986.Eight of us went to learn how they rantheir program so we could design aprogram in Canada. We thought thecompetition was long with a lot ofemphasis on classroom activities andcompetition. We felt the programneeded to be more fun if we wantedto get kids enthused to attend.Clint Robertson, Victor Rosso,Kevin Boon, Brent Allison, ElliotMacGregor, Kim Rintoul and LornaMacMillan and I attended the U.S.conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. Wecame home with lots of plans for aCanadian organization. Victor Rossospearheaded the group and aconference was held in Olds, Albertain 1987. It is interesting to see howmany of the group and those thatattended in Olds are still involved inthe cattle business.I went to work for a Hereford outfitand it took me away from theCharolais industry for a few years.Now I have kids involved in 4-H andI wanted them involved in the CCYA.Mostly because of the type of peopleit attracts – grounded, solid peoplewith good interests. It keeps theminterested and involved in cattle. Itgives them a reason to keep up andkeep learning. I saw a definite changein their interest after their firstconference. It has kept one of mydaughters in 4-H longer than if shehadn’t gone to CCYA. She had funand her interest grew through theparticipation with other kids. I haveeven seen their school friends change.Their friends have to have interests intheir lives other than boys and tvs.It’s important to cultivaterelationships that will broaden theirinterests in healthy ways. CCYA madeit cool, or okay to be a farm kidinterested in cattle.The program has also instilled aninterest in the genetic part of thebusiness. Now when the CharolaisBanner comes, they pick it up to seewho is doing what and who is beingwritten about. They just have moreinterest overall.Attending as a parent is awesome.They do such a great job of having theolder kids help the younger kids. Kidshave to do it instead of parentsstanding over them telling them whatto do. For many kids, this is their firstexperience working with cattlewithout parental help. When theseniors help the juniors, the kids havemore fun and take ownership of theirwork. For many it is the only timethey can feel like it is theiraccomplishment.Parents get to sit back and watchtheir kids grow. They do things atCCYA they would never do at homewithout grumbling. It gives them somuch confidence to be able to dothings without their parents.When my kids come home from aconference, they talk about the seniorsthat helped them the most and tookthe time to talk to them. I know that itwill help my kids be better seniorsbecause they understand theimportance of helping others. Theyhave first hand knowledge of what itmeant to them.The people that made this programwhat it is, really need a big pat on theback. It is a really great program. Theemphasis is not on competition, orwinning the show; it is on the fun andfriendship the kids make along theway. When the kids win a judgingclass, they know it is because they didit. It means so much more to them.By not having parents to rely onduring the week, the kids areencouraged to step out of their shell.They have to learn to interact withpeople and speak for themselves.My kids participate in 4-H andmany years their steers are bought bythe same people. This winter we hadthe buyers come out for supper onenight. The kids sat and visited withthem all evening. When we went tothe barn, they went to the barn. Theinteraction never stopped. The buyerswere astounded at the kids interestand ability to hang out with adults. Alot of this ability comes from theirparentless interaction at CCYA. It hassuch a huge affect on their confidence.It is another reason I feel stronglythat CCYA Alumni should be asked tojudge future conferences. We give allof these kids all of this confidence andability to judge and they don’t get touse it for many years. They shouldcontinue to use it and grow in largercapacities. It’s a good training groundfor larger shows.Another great thing about CCYA isthe borderless activity. Kids fromacross Canada to participate as onegroup, there are no competitions thatput kids from one province againstkids from another province. Theemphasis is on fun and friendship andthrough this they gain a big educationin life and in cattle.Charolais Banner • May 2011 19