Written by: Rhiannah Gallagher, Carleton 4-H Member   There are not enough words to describe the feeling you get when you step into the sale ring. The feeling of all the preparation boiling up to this one point. Knowing that behind you stands your parents, your leaders, your fellow 4-H members, and so many more people, and the fact that you get to see your hard work pay off is indescribable. And when finally, you reach it: you step into that sale ring and you know without a doubt that you accomplished everything you set out to do and so much more, you can finally breathe. Whether it be your first, 7th, or last time you feel that same pride swell up as the auctioneers start singing.   As I was sitting ringside at the sale on Saturday night I felt that pride in every one of those 4-H members attending. That pride stirred up in me a desire to donate 50% of my profits to the Ruiter family in support of a recent fire destroying their barns. The Ruiter family lost 100 Holsteins in the fire. The whole family has been active in 4-H and advocates of agriculture.   Since that night I’ve been asked why I donated half of my profits and I didn’t have an answer. But as the fair has now come to a close I believe I do finally have an answer to that question.   4-H represents the future of Agriculture to the general public with hope that they will learn how important this field is to the world and our country’s economy. This is a difficult task but we try our best to accomplish it at each and every event we attend as 4-H members. The Ruiters do this every day. They represent agriculture to so many people that as a 4-H’er I believe that I need to help and support them in any way I can. So if you asked me now why I did what I did, I could tell you that I did it for the Ruiters, 4-H and what they represent to the people around them.