Flowers and Queens

District dairy shows used to be a big deal in a lot of states.  In most areas of the Midwest, a district show will consist of maybe 50-75 head and it provides a great place for younger exhibitors to get their feet wet. As in several areas of life, what used to be formal is now more casual and the formality and the pomp and circumstance of the show has gone by the wayside….in some places.

Last week I covered the Ohio District 12 Holstein Show at the Auglaize County Fair in Wapakoneta, Ohio. We had arrived early and were sitting ringside visiting with friends. I sat and watched the ring steward, Gregg Topp, get things in order.  He gathered up the wheelbarrow and shovel to keep the ring clean, he made sure the announcer was making the correct announcements and that the judge had arrived and knew how the show would flow that evening.

Samantha, the Auglaize County Dairy Princess arrived for her duties to hand out ribbons and like any good princess will do, she introduced herself to those administrating the show and familiarized herself with the awards that she would be handing out.

Lou Brown, a local dairy farmer and the man in charge of the district show, walked up and handed Samantha a beautiful wrist corsage to wear and thanked her for attending the show. Now this was not a big state fair where the queen is treated like royalty being brought in on a six-horse hitch or paraded around in a cool corvette.  There was not a lot of glitz and glamor at this particular show. But that night, this busy dairy farmer thought enough of the fair princess and the Ohio Holstein Queen to call a flower shop and order flowers just for these young ladies to wear, at a district show that would have maybe 50 head and take 2 hours to complete.

As I watched this whole thing unfold, I witnessed a sweet exchange between a dairy producer and a very appreciative dairy princess.  You would have thought someone gave her a million dollars.  Samantha’s face lit up and she couldn’t thank Lou enough for his thoughtfulness. 

Throughout the show I would catch her looking at her corsage and then she would say to the Ohio Holstein Queen, Kinley Topp, “That was so kind, that just made may day. I can’t believe they bought flowers for us.” And Kinley agreed it was a very generous gesture.

That sweet gesture was a great reminder to me that every day is an opportunity to make an impact.  Saying a kind word, waving at an acquaintance, being present at an event, they are all small things that seemingly make no difference. But don’t be fooled, in this crazy world, filled with the need for immediate acceptance and validation, those small things can be the difference between life and death.