Weekend showcases what is positive about Dodge County
No matter where you look it seems like there is always a lot of negative news and information out there.
Dodge County saw two events this Saturday that put a more positive spin on the world.
The first was the Dodge County Expo.
This was the 23rd edition of the popular event sponsored by a committee of area Chamber of Commerce members and hosted at Triton High School by the Dodge Center Chamber. It’s been held every year on the last Saturday in March with the exception 2020 and 2021 when it was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers said there were 97 vendors at this year’s Expo and although an exact count of the number of visitors wasn’t available the estimates were in the vicinity of 1,500 people.
The vendors are all from Dodge County as the goal is to showcase what is available locally. There were businesses, of course, but also representatives from government agencies such as the city of West Concord and the Dodge County Department of Environmental Services. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office was there, as was Dodge County Public Health. Triton Public Schools were there. And there were many non-profit and service organizations such as NAMI, Relay for Life, Faith in Action, Mantorville Theatre Company, and the Methodist Church in Dodge Center.
Plus there was no lack of entertainment. Colton Smisek (or was it Elvis?) and his Rockin’ Hep Cats were entertaining in the hallway. Dancers from The Studio in Kasson were showing off their talents. Kids were out searching for the scavenger hunt items while while adults could sign up to win one of the baskets prepared by area business.
All-in-all, it was a good way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday.
Later that evening, members of the Dodge County Dairy Association gathered at the Milton Town Hall for their annual banquet to name the county dairy princesses. Like the Expo, this was an event that had been shut down for a couple of years during the pandemic.
This year, four young women were named to serve as Dodge County Dairy Princesses for 2023.
The title will be shared by Makenzie Alberts, Gabi Espinoza, Alita Rinehart, and Ellie Sauder.
This shows how the program has changed since its beginnings when the selection of a county’s dairy princess was more competitive and only one princess could be named for a county. The rules also do not require a dairy princess to live on a dairy farm, although they do have to be connected to the dairy industry, and they can serve in the role for more than one year unless, of course, they are chosen for the coveted role of competing for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.
But this too was a fun event for those dairy association members and others who attended. It featured good conversations, a good meal, and speeches by the four princesses telling about themselves, why they support the dairy industry and what they will do to promote dairy products.
The point of talking about both of these events is simply to remember that despite everything that is going on in the world there is still much that is good. Good people doing good things. We need to remember that more often.
Especially in times like this as Monday brought us back to a different reality as three students and three staff members were shot in still another senseless shooting at a school in Nashville.