Cross County AG Expo

First thing yesterday morning, I sent out the link to all Agents and MG county contacts to register for the 2013 State MG conference, and I am sure the computers were going, with folks logging on and registering. It is going to be a great conference. For those of you who haven’t received it yet, or couldn’t open it, you can go to the MG Only website which is password protected for MGs and get all the information there.

Yesterday, I thought I had really hit the big time. I was invited to be a speaker at the Cross County Ag Expo. From 7-2 the program was for farmers with topics on rice, soybeans, etc. From 2pm to 7 p.m. the event was geared for families and homeowners. I was scheduled at 5 p.m. The BIG draw were the Swamp People. I have to admit, I had never heard of the Swamp People, but they are on a hit show on the History Channel. They were scheduled from 2-7 pm and if you wanted to meet them in person you paid for a $12 ticket. The farmers got to see them for free from 2-3, and the thought was once school got out, families could come, visit the trade show with all kinds of items from camo gear, jewelry, insurance, informational booths (The MGs had displays on how to become a MG) and see the Swamp People. They had a childrens area set up with all kinds of kids activities, and a local barbeque guy was going to have dinner. They had 300 tickets available for the Swamp People and they sold out! I decided I better get there a little early to find a place to park, set up my stuff and see what all the excitement was about. I got to Wynne a little before 4 and the parking lot was empty–a few cars and a few big tractors, but not the chaos I had expected. I walked in and it looked pretty deserted, and then I heard it–the Swamp People didn’t make it! Their plane had problems in New Orleans and they weren’t coming. So from 2-now, there was nothing planned. The trade show still had a few booths, but they were tearing down, and the childrens area was empty. The poor barbeque guy had a lot of barbeque. We ended up having 25 show up to hear my talk, but we were all that was left, by the time we ended. We had a nice class, and a lot of questions. The Master Gardeners had set up some good displays and they also were promoting their upcoming event in April.

When folks in LR heard I was going to be with the Swamp People, they told me to get a picture and autographs. Since they aren’t too sure about who the Swamp People are either, I took a picture with Richard Klerk (the agent in Cross Co) and plan to tell people he is their cousin!!