Kellers sponsor 20th Du Quoin State Fair event

DU QUOIN, Ill. — For over two decades, Wayne and Jamie Keller have been sponsors of the Du Quoin State Fair Junior Livestock Show.

The Kellers began their sponsorship when they started their business, Buy A Farm Land and Auction Company, in 2005. The company sponsored the event for the next decade.

“My daughter, Benda Chandler, came up with this idea about the same time we started the company. She’s now running her own separate company, but we continued to do it,” Wayne Keller said.

“We did it to support the youth. My grandson was coming on and showing livestock at that time. He never showed at the Du Quoin show, but he showed at the Monroe County Fair most of the time.”

For the past 10 years, excluding 2020 when the fair was not held, the Kellers themselves have continued their junior livestock show sponsorship.

Through their sponsorship, additional premiums are available for the junior show grand and reserve champions in beef, dairy, swine and sheep competitions for the first- and second-place winners in each category, plus T-shirts to each entrant.

This year, the Kellers will contribute a total of $3,450 in additional premiums across those categories.

This year’s T-shirt will not doubt be in high demand as it also commemorates the nation’s 250th birthday.

Popular Shirts

Wayne, a designated managing broker and auctioneer, and Jamie, a designated managing broker, noted that junior livestock judging participants look forward to receiving their shirts each year.

“Those shirts become quite popular because sometimes midyear I’ll be sitting in like a Hardee’s or a McDonald’s eating dinner and some mother will come up to me and say, ‘Can you tell me what color will the shirts be this year?’” he said.

“We’ve had people show up at the show with quilts they’ve made out of the shirts the kids have got over the years.”

“This year’s shirt will be quite a bit different than in past years,” he added. “They’re kind of patriotic this year.”

The Kellers have developed many longtime friendships over the years in their support of the junior livestock show, which has now spanned a generation.

“We’ve made a lot of friends over the years. We watch the kids grow up because we see them year after year until they age out, and then they show up even afterwards with their siblings and so forth. There’s one instance that I know of where we’ve even had them show up years later with their own kids,” Wayne said.

“I can remember at least one time we’ve had kids show up from Texas to show at Du Quoin. I just like to see the kids get in this because they learn the responsibility and they can’t slack off if they’re going to do this. They learn work ethic and I just think it makes some more productive, responsible adults.

“This is something that we want to do. It takes a lot of running and everything, but we’re doing it because we want to do it.”

Jamie showed hogs in her youth, while Wayne only showed livestock once.

“I was in 4-H, but I wasn’t involved in showing. I wish that I had been,” he said.

“I quit farming near Tilden and Sparta probably 30 years ago. I had quite a few cattle, about 2,300 acres of row crops and 100 head of sows at the time. I started this business in 2005 after I had been working under another name before 2005.”

Sponsorships

Luke Davison, Du Quoin State Fair manager, noted the importance of sponsorships to support the fair and said he is very appreciative of the generosity.

“We rely heavily on people’s continued investment in the Du Quoin State Fair. It’s been humbling as we start planning for the fair and working those relationships year-in, year-out, just how eager and enthusiastic all these different groups are, whether that is in our competitive events, livestock exhibiting, or entertainment, whatever the impact they want to have, even in just having some space and room opportunities where people want to exhibit, but then also provide some services,” he said.

“I’m always humbled by the notion that people are so enthusiastic about investing in the fair each year. It would be very difficult to have a fair of this scale and have the fair as we do in its year-in, year-out iteration without those partners. They fill space. They provide donations. They provide services.

“It’s really the kind of unheralded aspect of the fair that probably the general public doesn’t think of, and that is the community’s investment in that.”

Buy A Farm

Buy A Farm Land and Auction Company is a fully licensed real estate company specializing in rural real estate sales and auctions and is licensed in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri.

“I’ve sold somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 acres across Illinois and Missouri,” Wayne said.