By Barbara Augsdorfer, Editor for the Effingham Herald

A group of Effingham County students made strong showings last week at the Georgia National Fair in Perry.

The goat shows were Oct. 3-6.

While the Effingham County students and their animals compete regularly in district and regional shows, the Georgia National Fair is the granddaddy of them all -- like the state football championship, according to Todd Wall, district coordinator for the Effingham County School District CTAE program and CEO of the Honey Ridge Agricenter.

The competition for the Georgia National Fair is open to all students in Georgia, and Wall said that in the goat division there were at least 500 student competitors, and 50-60 in each grand level. “For these kids from Effingham County to go out and compete with the best in the state, and come out on top, is awesome,” Wall said. “It just shows the dedication of the students, their parents and ag teachers; and is another good reason we built this new Ag center so the kids could practice and compete and get ready for big shows like the Georgia National Fair.”

Among the top winners from Effingham County were two “Showmanship Champions” -- Hallie Grace Rahn (FFA), ninth grade showmanship champion; and Hailey Patrick (4-H)
second grade showmanship champion. Rahn is a freshman at Effingham County High School and Patrick attends Marlow Elementary.

“This is just an this is an awesome opportunity for the students of Effingham County to go to a National Fair and compete against other students around the state of Georgia,” Wall added. “The competition is very deep. (There are) a lot of good showmen in the state of Georgia, and these students came out on top being the best in their grade levels, which is an awesome feat, considering the quality of animal and the quality of showmen that we have in the state of Georgia.”