New life breathed into county show barn

By Donnie A. Lucas

A ribbon cutting Friday at the Shackelford County Show Barn officially marked the opening of the remodeled facility, giving county officials, donors, volunteers and the public a look at improvements.

The ceremony was sponsored by the Albany Chamber of Commerce, with close to 100 interested parties on hand for the event.

The project was started in the spring with fundraising that totaled $375,000 to bring the 50-year-old structure up to date.

“The amount of money we were able to raise was phenomenal,” said capital campaign committee chair Mike Parsons. “Because of the generosity of our donors, we were able to expand the scope of the job and really provide a first-class facility for the youth of Shackelford County to use for years to come.”

Parsons said the project is considered 90 percent complete including pouring concrete in the main barn, replacing all the pens, closing in the south side and installing three large roll-up doors, applying spray foam insulation, adding large exhaust fans to the north side to draw air through in warmer months, upgrading some of the electrical including installing LED lighting and large ceiling fans, painting the entire inside of the barn and arena areas, and expanding the concession stand.

“We are still going to extend the cattle barn to square it up with the rest of the barn to provide a better loading ramp, storage and a bigger photo area,” Parsons said. “We are just going to wait until it gets a little cooler in October.”

The building was used last weekend for the annual pig sale benefitting the association, and it houses the annual livestock show in January.

Parsons noted that the parking lot was also resurfaced and expanded, with the work provided by commissioners Ace Reames and Lanham Martin, along with Robert Snyder. He said Jamie Nail donated 20 truckloads of crushed rock for the project.

Parsons offered his thanks to the countless hours of volunteer time by the crew of Trent Tankersley, Ted Tidwell, Blaine Cauble, Rocky Parsons, Chris Edgar and Garry Edgar, along with a list of mostly local contractors.

He also recognized the efforts of county officials including judge John Viertel and commissioners Ace Reames, Lanham Martin, Steve Riley, and Cody Jordan, along with county treasurer Tammy Brown, and county clerk Cheri Hawkins.

The Capital Campaign Committee of the Livestock Association included Parsons, Reggy Spencer, Bronco Askew, Chris Edgar, and Garry Edgar.

A list of those donating to the project can be found in a “Thank You” advertisment in this edition of the newspaper.

The original goal was $150,000, but that quickly trended upward, and the scope of the remodeling expanded due to the generosity of local donors and several corporate contributions, Parsons said.

“Everything that has been done was needed,” Parsons said. “We just didn’t know that we would be able to get it all done at the same time.”

Improvements included roof repairs, and the slab has already been poured where needed to expand the cattle barn.

A number of students were bused to the ribbon cutting.

“These improvements were done for those kids and the future of the ag programs, which involves the largest number of pariticipants in any program at both schools in the county.”

Parsons added that there is some cosmetic work and insulation to be completed in the concession stand. Also, if funds are available, he said there are plans to blow on insulation in the cattle barn which was added in 2008.