Farmers in Wranglers and work boots aren’t normally invited to strut down the runway, but at last weekend’s Cattlemen’s Ball, walking the runway was a place of honor.
The annual style show is about more than western fashion. Every person on the stage was there for a reason, each touched by cancer.
One of the faces behind the event was Lexington’s Don Batie. A retired farmer more at home in jeans and work boots, he found himself in the spotlight.
“Normally I am obviously not a style show person,” he said with a smile. “Everyone back here, we’ve been talking and joking and comparing our journeys. All of us have a journey.”
That journey is what connects every model in that show. And for Don, cancer couldn’t be more personal.
“My wife just passed away from cancer at Christmas. My dad died from cancer, my wife’s father died from cancer. I’ve had a couple of different cancers, luckily caught early. The style show’s a fun way just to showcase that you know what, we may have had cancer but we survived and we’re going forward,” he said after he walked off the stage.
Cattlemen’s Ball doesn’t just happen, there several committees and scores of volunteers, and no one around Dawson County was surprised when both Don and Barb stepped up with the event near Cozad.
Unfortunately, Barb didn’t see this day, as cancer became part of her story.
The two were rarely far apart. If Don was at a field day, Extension workshop, Farm Bureau meeting, or community event, Barb was usually there too—camera in hand, notebook nearby, always looking for the next story worth telling in her career as an ag journalist.
Walking the runway without her wasn’t something Don ever imagined. But knowing Barb, this is exactly the kind of story she would have wanted people to hear.
When Don stepped onto the runway, he wasn’t expecting much. Instead, he was met with applause from the hundreds packed into the tent.
“Don is wearing a gray rock and roll sports jacket,” the emcee said as he threw the coat over his shoulder to howls of applause.
Folks clapped for all the survivors ranging from longtime ranchers to a young boy still fighting cancer.
“Especially the younger ones. They need the encouragement that we can beat cancer,” he said.
There in the crowd were Don’s daughters, Cicely and Julie. Earlier in the day they had run the 5K race before finding seats for the style show.
“I expected a small crowd and did not expect a standing room only crowd so I came out and I was shocked. The tent is absolutely packed which is wonderful,” he said.
And the timing wasn’t lost on many people there. Over the last year, Dawson County has faced its share of challenges. The Tyson beef plant closure rocked Lexington. Wildfires scarred parts of the county.
Against those obstacles, and his own, Don says the Cattlemen’s Ball provided a much-needed lift.
“We’re going to party and the amount of support Dawson County and surrounding communities had for this ball was immense.
At the Cattlemen’s Ball, the message is simple: celebrate survivors, support research, and keep fighting.
“All that vision is coming to light,” Batie said. “It is exactly what we wanted. Come have a good time trying to kick cancer’s butt.”