Neligh Woman Wins ATV At First County Ag And Home Expo

More than 600 people attended the first Antelope County Ag & Home Expo that was held March 2 and 3 at the Antelope County Fairgrounds. 

Craig Smith with Big Red Motorsports said they provided a 2016 Arctic Cat ATV with a limited number of tickets available for purchase for a Neligh Chamber of Commerce drawing. 

“All of the proceeds are going to the chamber. They were $80 per ticket or two for $150. They were selling only 200 tickets.”

Tammy Howell of Neligh was drawn as the winner of ATV on Thursday evening.

“I’m super excited about winning the four-wheeler. Thank you to Neligh Chamber of Commerce," Howell said.

The Antelope County Ag and Home Expo was sponsored by the Antelope County News and US92 and has been organized by the committee members and the Neligh Chamber of Commerce.

Committee members Craig & Melissa Smith, Greg Ptacek and Wade Pitzer have be planning the event since November.

Smith said the event is aimed at drawing both people and businesses from across the area to promote the agricultural and home sector of Antelope County.

"I think we need to draw in all the businesses from Antelope County and even surrounding counties," Smith said.

Neligh Assistant Economic Development Director Lauren Sheridan-Simonsen, “We have 54 vendors. We had a wait list and sold out of space. It’s nice to see everyone coming together to pull off this great event.”

Neligh-Oakdale FBLA provided food throughout the two-day event.

Agricultural Services, Inc., based out of Page, was one of the vendors present at the expo. Representative Eric Maple said the event provided an excellent opportunity to network with producers in the area.

“We are trying to up our exposure in Antelope County and let people know that we do business around here,” Maple said.

Gary Ober said Lazy-T Tire and Implement in Orchard, Nebraska was excited to be part of this initial event.

“It’s Antelope County - and we’re in Antelope County. We felt that this is the first time for this and we want to support it. And I am sure we will be back,” Ober said.

As a continuing event, Sheridan-Simonsen said the Ag and Home expo is an asset to the county.

“Antelope county and Nebraska in general is an agricultural economy. This is our number one business. If we are not supporting agriculture, we are not supporting Nebraska,” Sheridan-Simonsen said.