Livestock Director Brittni Kaczyk has the Dirt on the Stock Show

A familiar face seen around the fairgrounds and in the livestock barn every year during the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo (SASSR) is Britnni Kaczyk, Livestock Director for SASSRA.

For the readers of LIVE! who are unfamiliar with the agricultural programs many schools offer and what goes down at the Stock Shows, Kaczyk explains the importance of Ag life.

She explained that kids put in many hours to prepare their animals for shows, including grooming, training and keeping them at the proper weight.

“They compete for a position in premium sales,” said Kaczyk. “They sell their animals to groups of buyers and they get awarded for their participation.”

Local businesses, like Jim Bass Ford and Bud Light, are happy to shell out the money for a good cause.

“Young people come away from the stock shows, not necessarily with a ribbon or medal, but with life skills they won’t get in another arena,” Kaczyk explained. “These are top-quality students who are going to learn life skills that make them wonderful leaders.”

The kids learn skills like time management, responsibilities and how to communicate with adults, skills that Kaczyk mentioned are becoming rarer and rarer.

“Every year there are fewer and fewer people going into Ag, so it’s important that we continue to teach them [those] skills,” she stated simply.

However, if you judge by the number of participants in the San Angelo Stock Show, that would not be the conclusion drawn. According to Kaczyk, San Angelo is one of the largest stock shows in Texas.

“Texas has most of the largest livestock shows in the nation,” she explained. “If you can be one of the major shows in Texas you can be one of the major shows in the world.”

The San Angelo Stock Show begins Friday Feb. 14, and kicks off with the Jr. Breeding Heifer show at 8:00 a.m.