One Of The Fair’s Founding Fathers Retires

By CHARLENE PAUL

Moapa Valley Progress

After more than half a century of participation and service, Moapa Valley resident Jerry Haworth is stepping down from the livestock division of the Clark County Fair and Rodeo. Talk to any of the old timers, and they will say that Jerry is a treasure and will be sorely missed by the Fair in the years to come.

Born in Overton, Haworth was raised on the Warm Springs Ranch.
“My dad had it leased and ran it until he died,” Haworth said. “He managed it for Howard Hughes and Francis Taylor.”

Being raised on the ranch fostered Haworth’s love of livestock.
“I showed my first steer at the Jaycee State Fair in 1956,” he said. “At that time, it was at the old Cashman Field.”

Logandale resident Glen Hardy was one of Haworth’s high school teachers.
“I taught Jerry as a freshman in high school in 1958 or 59,” Hardy said. “He was a good football player and made All-American. He went on to play football at Dixie and Weber State before coming back to the valley.”

Haworth returned to the valley in 1966 and immediately got involved in the Junior Livestock Show in Las Vegas. The show was held in the Convention Center in Las Vegas until Clark County Commissioner Bob Broadbent left for Washington, DC.

In 1984, Haworth was the Chairman of the Fair and served for one year. He has served as president of the Southern Nevada Junior Livestock Association, later the Clark County Junior Livestock Association, in one capacity or another since 1968. He also chaired a 4H Club for 21 years.

Naming career highlights, Haworth included moving the livestock show.
“When we decided to move the livestock show to the (Moapa) valley; first at the high school, then to Lewis Ranch, and back to Logandale; that was a major thing,” he said. “The kids in the valley could get involved right here rather than having to go to Vegas.”
It took several years for the livestock show to get its own home.

“It was a major hurdle to get the fairgrounds,” Haworth said. “It is such a great feeling to know we had a home and that the fair was going to develop into what a fair should be instead of a few carnival rides and a few livestock exhibits.”

Over the years, the livestock show has evolved from a small show with four or five steers and a handful of kids, to 30 or 40 steers and 200 kids being involved.
“One year when Dr. (Larry) Moses was still principal at the high school, he called me up and asked why there were only 10 kids at school,” Haworth recalled.
“Jerry,” Moses said, “What’s the story? You don’t have that many animals.”
“They need a lot of help,” Haworth replied.

After a couple of major health scares, Haworth and his wife, Sharon, have made the difficult decision to step down.
“It’s just been a love of my life,” he said. “I’ve been involved since I was a little kid. It’s been so exciting to see it grow in every aspect.”

“It is such a high-quality fair – probably the best in the state of Nevada,” Haworth continued. “It’s because the people in the valley stepped up and did what they needed to do. It is a valley-wide effort.”

Words weren’t adequate to express how people feel about Haworth and his service to this community.
“Jerry’s awesome!” Fair Director Kevin Willard said. “He is a fun, easy-going, good man. We wish him the best and we’ll miss him.”

Fair CEO Todd Robison agrees.
“Jerry was always willing to help out,” he said. “He always had a clear vision of what he was doing.”
Haworth is ready to pass the reigns along now to the next generation.
“It’s time for somebody else, somebody younger, to take over,” he said. “I just hope they will love it as much as I did.”