It is my great privilege to welcome you all to the 83rd annual Northeast District Livestock Show. It is hard for me to believe that another year has come and gone, but once again all of you, your families, and show projects will fill the Delhi Livestock Barn to near capacity. This is an exciting time for you, your families, 4-H Leaders and FFA Advisors and we are glad we get to share it with you.

Sincere gratitude is expressed to the Northeast Louisiana Livestock Show board of directors for their continued support of this deeply rooted tradition. As we attend each meeting it is clear to me how much the members of this board genuinely care about building the best possible show for all of you.

Youth livestock programs have long been considered as model programs for youth development and for public understanding of American agriculture. However, the primary purpose of the youth livestock program is to provide an opportunity for personal growth and development of the young person. A secondary purpose is to teach young people how to feed, fit and show their animals. In the process of feeding and caring for an animal, young people have the opportunity to develop many positive character traits:

• Trustworthiness
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness
• Caring
• Citizenship

These character traits are not intended to be complete but to express the idea that the 4-H and FFA livestock projects offer numerous ways for young people to build character. It is the responsibility of adults to ensure that all exercises that children are practicing are building positive character traits.

So, as we converge on Delhi in February 2023 lets all keep this in mind:

• Ethics is an attitude and involves doing the right thing, not just what is within the bounds of the show rules.
• A good attitude is taught by a good example.

• Adults can only be reminded of what's right or wrong, because they have already learned this. Young people, on the other hand, are still learning.

• Our livestock show is a teachable moment! The lessons learned now will last a lifetime.

I look forward to seeing you all soon and once again enjoying the history and tradition that this livestock show is so deeply immersed. Oh, and let's all hope for great weather!

Sincerely,

Jason Holmes