It wasn’t long ago that Dustin Gaskins was showing at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, and now the ag teacher in his hometown of Eunice, New Mexico, is chairman of the Lea County Fair Board.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF DUSTIN GASKINS)

 

LOVINGTON, N.M. – Dustin Gaskins’ association with the Lea County Fair and Rodeo is three decades strong.

It’s almost as if he was born to be part of one of the biggest expositions in New Mexico. He has a calling to be involved with agriculture, and his place as chairman of the Lea County Fair Board is just an extension of that.

“I’m a fourth-generation rancher,” said Gaskins, 30, also the ag teacher at Eunice (New Mexico) High School. “My great-grandparents settled the land. They had a big ranch that was passed down to my grandparents, and then my grandparents ultimately divided it up between all the kids.

“My mother has since passed away, and it’s been given to my sister and myself. We continue to have sheep we raise. I have about 30 head of ewe lambs we raise every year, and the majority of those are sold to the kids within Lea County and surrounding areas to show at their fairs.

“We have some commercial lambs as well, and I plan on having kids and raising them right here in Eunice, teaching them these values and continuing that legacy.”

That’s his life, and he’s sharing it with other Lea County residents and any of the visitors who make their way to the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for Friday, July 31-Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington.

“I’m a livestock guy,” said Gaskins, who showed at the fair during his youth. “I’m an ag teacher, so that was my focus when I got on the fair board. Now that I’m the chairman of the fair board, I’m trying to get involved with everything.”

He’s dabbling, and that’s perfectly alright. It’s something he’s taken from Kris Allen, who stepped down from his role on the fair board after moving to Lubbock, Texas, to be closer to his children and grandchildren.

“His will definitely be big shoes to fill,” Gaskins said. “Kris did an amazing job when it came to leading us as a board and representing that fair every month throughout the years. That’s where I got my leadership ideas about being involved in every single committee, because he wanted to make sure he knew what was going on with every aspect. He wanted to know what was happening before it came to the board.

“That’s one of the things I learned from him that I wanted to continue. I just hope I’m doing justice in filling those shoes.”

The evidence will be on display during the nine-day exposition. Not only is he taking lessons he’s gained over his years on the board, but he’s bringing his own voice to the role. It’s one that began to develop as a youngster showing at the same county fair.

“I was raised on a small ranch just north of Eunice,” he said. “I went to school in Eunice, graduated there and I showed at the Lea County Fair from the time I was 8 until I was 18. I’ve shown everything that you could possibly show at the Lea County Fair: dairy heifers, rabbits, chickens, steers … we did horses one year.

“I also showed dairy goats when they had a dairy-goat show. I was able to show everything. My most favorite, though, was the steers and the lambs.”

That background guided him to the next level in life. He attended New Mexico State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in agricultural education. He then returned to southeastern New Mexico to go to work.

“I actually came back and started the FFA and agriculture program (at Eunice High School) from the ground up,” Gaskins said. “They never had FFA or agriculture when I was in school here.

“This industry really shaped me. I knew that I wanted to do something within agriculture and, specifically, something with animals. I originally went to school to become a veterinarian. In my last year as an undergraduate, I decided to change my major, and the ag-teaching route was my best option. I’ve worked at two schools within Lea County as an ag teacher, and I think I have found my forever home here at Eunice.”

Students and their families are beneficiaries, and so are Lea County residents because of his commitment to the exposition. Like all volunteers, he dedicates much of his time to helping create the best experience possible for fair-goers.

“You really have to want to do it,” he said. “It’s a heavy-volunteer base. It’s a lot of hours, especially for those of us in southern Lea County. Every one of our meetings – our fair board meetings, committee meetings and everything like that – is in Lovington. For me, it’s a 30-minute drive to get there, and then a 30-minute drive back.

“So, you have to be dedicated to it. You have to be dedicated to the kids. You have to be dedicated to the community, and you have to keep an open mind. One of the harder things that I had to learn in my first and second year was that while I think the livestock portion is a great thing for the fair, it’s not the only thing that makes the fair.”

That’s true. The expo is a regional attraction because of so many aspects, from daily entertainment to other exhibitors to the concerts to the rodeo.

“You have to see others’ point of view when it comes to things like that, whether it’s the rodeo or the entertainment or the things in the Yucca building,” Gaskins said. “You have to understand that stuff also draws people it.

“It’s not just about one thing. It’s a whole bunch of little things that make up one great thing, and that’s the fair.”