Show barn workday set Saturday

By Sam Waller

Preparations are underway for the 35th annual First Impressions Invitational Pig Sale, with a workday scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4 at the Shackelford County Livestock Show Barn, starting at 8:00 a.m.

“We always try to schedule a cleanup day the week before an event,” Bronco Askew, president of the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Association, said. “We’re going to get the facility looking as good as possible because this sale attracts a lot of people.”

Askew said that he and other volunteers, along with high school ag students, have already started working at the barn, moving pens, shredding, and killing weeds.

The First Impressions Sale is expected to have 125 animals from 18 producers, event organizer Mike Parsons said. The animals will be exhibited and judged on Saturday, Sept. 11 and then sold on Sunday, Sept. 12.

The event is the longest running livestock sale in the United States, according to Parsons. 

Proceeds from the event benefit all Shackelford County youth who exhibit at the county livestock show.

Askew said the prep work is handled by local 4-H and FFA members and adult volunteers.

“The kids are all involved in it,” he said. “They may get (credit for) hours or grades for participating.”

He emphasized that the event has always been held as a way of helping students. 

“We encourage the kids to be there for the workday and for the pig sale, too,” said Askew. “It’s for their benefit. We try to emphasize that part of the program is about responsibility.”