Events in memory of Neil Wise continue to help 4-H youth
Kielyn Simmons takes to the arena with a smile.
The Neil Wise Scholarship organization and the Neil Wise Memorial Cattle Show are operated by different groups of people, but that doesn’t keep them from working together.
The annual scholarship winners for 2023 were announced last weekend, with competitions at the cattle show during the day and the scholarship organization holding a square and line dance in the evening. Winning $1,000 each to help with future studies were Adeline Kendle, Daxx Peters and Emma Leggett.
The Neil Wise Scholarship was established in 2015 by his friends after Wise died from injuries due to a car accident at the age of 19. He was well respected and had made many friends throughout the years through his membership in the Cloverstitchers 4-H club and participation at the fair. Over the years Wise’s 4-H animals had won grand champion and reserve champion steer and reserve champion hog.
The first junior cattle show had already been planned before the accident. Tuscarawas County Agricultural Society Director Reb Billman recalled how the event got started one year while his wife and daughter were at the county fair.
“We were watching a class in the ring, and my daughter, who was always very good at showmanship, says, ‘Dad, these kids need some education; we need to do something.’ So I said to my wife, ‘Let’s do a show,’” Billman said.
With the blessing of the fair board, they made plans to keep the entry fee low, get sponsors and give out awards. The day the first show was to start was the day of the accident.
“It’s pretty emotional for all of us. Wow, he was so super, such a good guy,” Billman said. “We just made it the Neil Wise Memorial Steer Show, and his family and local businesses have all been very supportive of the show. So we keep going each year.”
The junior cattle show has now been held every year for seven years with the exception of 2020. The show has changed over the years and gotten bigger. The event is held on two days. The first day of the show is for Tuscarawas County 4-H members only, and on Sunday it is open to others.
“We tried a little different schedule this year because of kids in local sports,” Billman said.
Some of the participants were on baseball teams and needed to attend games. Also conflicting was another cattle show in Caldwell and the Ohio Cattlemen Association banquet in Columbus that evening, and many of the local participants also have competed in their shows. The turnout was still good.
On Saturday morning of the event, seminars were held on a variety of topics including breeding stock selection, market animal selection and hand fitting, and beef industry standards vs. show cattle standards. The show competition began at 1:30 p.m.
“Every year we try to give them something new and something old,” Billman said.
Some topics are repeated every year because the information is important to know to care for cattle.
In a cattle show, anything can happen that might be out of the control of the showman, so in addition to the winner’s award, the show gives out a Chin Up Award to one participant in each class who didn’t give up to encourage them to keep going.
Billman thanked everyone for their support of the show.
“We have tremendous local support from businesses and the Wise family and the Helmke family. We have people calling and wanting to volunteer to help do this, do that,” Billman said. “It’s the cattle world. We’re one big family.”
The show sponsors included Wise Show Cattle LLC, Next Level Show Supply, the Tuscarawas County Agricultural Society, Gerber & Sons Inc., TCCA, Harmony Hill Herefords, M & L Cattle Co., Rural King, Central Excavating, Bailey Cattle Co., Carrollton Farmer Exchange, Jacque P Photography, Chet and Jennifer Randolph, Mary Welling, and John Deer salesmen Clay Hershberger, Brady Parsons and Codie McKain.
Baskets were sponsored by Beitzel Meats, Gooding’s Nursery and Boltz Family Farms Market.
The show hopes to expand its vendors next year and continue to grow.
Judge Tommy Wise of Fleming complimented the show’s organizers and encouraged the participants to take advantage of the added opportunity to learn.
“It’s a good event to get out and do some training ahead of time,” Wise said. “It’s a great thing to do — a county show. A lot of counties don’t have county shows.”
For more information visit the Neil Wise Scholarship or the Neil Wise Memorial Junior Steer and Heifer Show on Facebook.