Typically, for a week in July, readers will see many stories and photos featuring our local young people who have participated in various showings of their projects for the fair. As the Lawrence County Fair wrapped up last night for 2016, I started to think about all the hard work that hundreds of our youth completed this week.

For many in 4-H or other youngsters, this week is about them. While the rides and entertainment are a staple of any county fair, we need to always remember that the focus should on those who have worked for at least the last year, and in some cases more for the end goal that was realized this week.

Annually, hundreds of youth from all ages pick a project, whether it is an animal, farming or agriculture, each one of the participants, their parents and their 4-H club made a big commitment leading up to this past week. In most cases, it is not only a big time commitment, but financial as well.

These projects also are a valuable learning experience for all in commitment, accountability and responsibility. It is not something that is thrown together a few weeks before the shows at the fair, but rather many months worth of work. For many, the project begins at the animal or farming infancy. Either by planting, growing and cultivating the project or raising the animals from when they are very young.

I always try to teach these same principles in sports, because without those three staples, there is no foundation to build upon. We are teaching our young people to be the future leaders of our communities, and many will go on to lead businesses, government and families of their own.

I want to congratulate all of those young people, and, regardless of whether you ended the show with a ribbon or not, your dedication to seeing the project through will serve you for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, we see and read about too many young people around the world that want the end result without putting the time and effort. There is an old adage that says “You get what you give,” and that can relate to every aspect of our lives. Whether it is our families, our careers, sports or academics, this is a fitting saying because it basically means that your end result is going to likely parallel what you effort and desire you put in.

If you want something, go after it with everything you have in your soul. You don’t want to look back 20 years from now and wonder if I had done this or that a little harder, would it have been different. Give everything you have the first time, and you wont ever have to wonder.

We are blessed in Lawrence County to have so many young people who strive for excellence in everything they do. In the end, it all comes down to hard work and the passion you have.

I tell my softball team all the time, there are many things during a game you can’t control, and the same is true in life. However, we can always control our effort and we are fortunate to have that in our community.

 

Josh Morrison is the general manager at The Tribune. To reach him, call 740-532-1441 ext. 16 or by email at josh.morrison@irontontribune.com.