The California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta will not let my child enter his lamb in the FFA contest. They told us that they had no record of our registration or payment although we had registered and paid in December. Nor are we the only ones in this situation; there are five of us at Brawley Union High. We did everything that we were supposed to do and were not notified of our ineligibility until two days before the fair’s opening. Now my son is stuck with a lamb that we are not sure we are going to be able to sell. What makes it all the more heartbreaking is the fact that my son intended to donate the proceeds to the Cancer Society, too, since we have a family member suffering from the disease. — Mad as a Goat, Brawley
After doing our best to find out exactly what happened, no clear sequence of events emerged, aside from the registration form and payment apparently not reaching fair officials in time to meet a state-mandated deadline.
By all accounts, the December filing date the Probe letter writer references above was in time to meet the January deadline and grant them entry to compete.
Yet, the form and payment did not reach fair officials in time to meet deadline, said fair Chief Executive Officer Theresa Garcia. And state rules do not allow for late entries.
We’re also told that the form and payment were initially given to the school’s FFA adviser, who did not return a request for comment. That being said, it is impossible to say exactly what transpired.
Despite the fair’s rules regarding FFA being available online, Garcia said not a year goes by without someone missing a deadline.
As a consolation of sorts, we’re told the BUHS senior, who was described by all as a sincere and dedicated individual who had also competed in the past, has been invited to help his teammates.
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After doing our best to find out exactly what happened, no clear sequence of events emerged, aside from the registration form and payment apparently not reaching fair officials in time to meet a state-mandated deadline.
By all accounts, the December filing date the Probe letter writer references above was in time to meet the January deadline and grant them entry to compete.
Yet, the form and payment did not reach fair officials in time to meet deadline, said fair Chief Executive Officer Theresa Garcia. And state rules do not allow for late entries.
We’re also told that the form and payment were initially given to the school’s FFA adviser, who did not return a request for comment. That being said, it is impossible to say exactly what transpired.
Despite the fair’s rules regarding FFA being available online, Garcia said not a year goes by without someone missing a deadline.
As a consolation of sorts, we’re told the BUHS senior, who was described by all as a sincere and dedicated individual who had also competed in the past, has been invited to help his teammates.
To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.
