This was supposed to be Griffin Demshar’s last year showing an animal at the Lake County Fair, and he was finishing out his 4-H career on top.
The goat he raised for the carcass category of the junior fair took grand champion. But he wasn’t in Lake County on July 29 for the junior fair livestock sale. He wasn’t even in Ohio.
Griffin, who was also named the fair’s 2023 Outstanding Youth, was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He left on July 11 for basic training.
“Ladies and gentlemen, he couldn’t be here tonight, but we’re going to sell his goat,” the auctioneer said, as he introduced the lot.
In his stead, his older sister, Anya, and a dozen or so of fellow 4-H’ers stood on the sales block. Griffin Demshar’s grand champion carcass goat sold for $120/pound to Polaris Engineering, bringing in a total of $4,080.
“Everyone was missing him,” Anya Demshar said. “We’ve been sending him letters.”
Competitive spirit
This was Griffin Demshar’s 10th year of being in 4-H. His dad, Todd Demshar, said he started the program as soon as he could in third grade. The first year he raised a market lamb. The next year he added rabbits. Later he did goats and steers, as well as dairy calves. Last year Griffin’s market lamb was named grand champion.
Anya Demshar, who is 2 years older than her brother, said they’ve always been competitive in the show ring, but helped each other out in the barn taking care of their animals before school. There may have been some friendly smack-talking, though, as they worked their animals in the afternoons.
“We would always go head-to-head in showmanship,” she said. “Until my senior year, I beat him with lambs. My senior year, he beat me in lambs. I was so mad. I was happy for him because I told him he couldn’t do it. I was happy it was him that beat me.”
Anya Demshar has been away at college for the past two years, but her little brother kept her up-to-date about everything going on at home. When she came home on the weekend, they’d go to jackpot shows together.
“He’d call me every day and tell me what was going on in the barn,” she said. “It might have been annoying at the time, but now he’s not there. I miss him.”
Griffin Demshar chose to do a carcass goat this year because he knew he wouldn’t be around to show it in the ring. The carcass show results were announced July 22, the Saturday before the fair. Todd Demshar said they wrote him a letter telling him the news, but at the time of the sale, they weren’t sure if he’d gotten it yet. Anya planned to stand on the sales block with the banner for his carcass goat, so it wouldn’t be empty, and his other 4-H friends decided to join in.
Goals
Todd Demshar said his son was a typical teenager who didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, but he didn’t think a traditional four-year college was the right fit for him. Griffin Demshar eventually found that going into a specialized program in the Air Force could combine many of his hobbies into a career.
Griffin Demshar was accepted into the special warfare program to be a combat controller, Todd Demshar said. According to the Air Force website, a controller is a “highly specialized” Airman who is trained in a wide range of skills, including scuba, parachuting and snowmobiling, as well as being FAA-certified air traffic controller. To get into the program, Griffin Demshar had to pass extra fitness tests, his father said.
“I’m so extremely proud of what he’s doing and how he’s doing it,” Todd Demshar said. “I was very excited as a parent that once he determined it’s what he wanted, that he set his mind on it and went for it.”
