Showing animals takes a lot of work, and when the Lewis and Clark County Fair comes to town, everyone wants their livestock looking their best. With over 100 animals shown each year, some upgrades were needed.
“We've needed this for a while, cause it's always been crammed during fair,” said Canyon Creek Stock 4-H member Bode Fitzsimmons. “When we need to wash our steers, especially on show day, it’s really important to get them all clean.”
(WATCH: 4-H club builds new wash rack for showing animals)
The 28-member club raised almost $19,000 this year to update the wash rack. It will more than triple in size and benefit more than 400 4–H members.
“All of 4-H will be able to use it, and it will be good for whenever there’s jackpots, and whatnot here cause being able to show up and make your animals look the best they can is really important,” said Canyon Creek Stock 4-H president Addison Fitzsimmons.
The kids came up with the idea themselves, with everyone giving input on the needs for different animal types.
A new wash rack is a lot of work, but they had some help, with Matrix Construction, Capital Concrete, and AJ Concrete Pumping all volunteering to do the work and donate half of the concrete needed for the project.
“4-H is a good club,” stated Matrix Construction owner Zach Holshue. “I think they create good values and morals in the youth of our community. We just take that opportunity to help these kids and push along their club.”
Once the concrete was set, members signed their names to leave their mark on a project that's bigger than themselves.
“It's really cool to be able to show that I was part of something that bettered our community, and that's one thing that 4-H is really big on, is bettering the community,” Addison said.
The wash rack will open for use when the Last Chance Stampede comes to town in July.
