Members of 4H Clubs from around the southeast were in Estevan yesterday at the Annual Show and Sale. The show is the 4H Club's members to showcase their cattle that they've been working with all year long, and prizes were given out to each of the kids who demonstrated the best animals, as well as the best oral presentation for their animal, and a number of awards were handed out to the clubs.

"It is a year-long process," explained Chad Ross, leader of the Outram-Manigan 4H Club. "These members, they select their animals back in the fall as baby calves. And it's their responsibility to look after them, feed them, until today when they exhibit them and go ahead and sell them."

Ross was a former 4H member from the time he was six years old up until he left for college. When he returned home, he got right back into the program. 

He added that it's not an easy thing to raise an animal for an entire year and then let it go.

"It's never easy saying goodbye to the animal they've been with for a year. The thing to remember is the animal is just the mechanism we use for growing kids. We're growing responsible young adults for our community, our agriculture industry, and our province. 4H is just a mechanism to do that."

"It's really fun to see, as a leader, you bring in those kids at six years old as they go through the process. We have public speaking, they interact with other kids, their confidence gets better. They learn to speak in public, they learn to speak one on one. Their responsibility is high because they have something they are responsible for that is a living breathing animal and if they don't do it, it doesn't end well."

"It's a very good way to grow young adults."

And there is no time off for these kids. Ross shared that some members have already selected their animals for next year.

"They'll come in at weaning time which is September through October and go through the process again."