<p>The 81-year-old man sat at a table overlooking the show arena at the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair as a cancer survivor, a tutor and a former substitute teacher at Franklin schools.</p><p>But on this day, the sheep and their showmen have his attention. Each day, Willis Good greets the sheep exhibitors, many of whom are beginning their lives in agriculture much as he did. Good assists any way he can, often checking on the sheep to see if they are OK and on the exhibitors to see if they are ready for the day ahead, he said.</p><p>“A lot of times I’m in the ring making sure the sheep are taken care of. I’ll go in the aisles during the fair to make sure the sheep are okay with water. I’ll talk to exhibitors and ask ‘do you have any questions, are you doing alright?’ I’ve done that every year I’ve been involved,” Good said.</p><p>“I really get involved with the sheep and so I’ve enjoyed working here with these people. It’s really been an asset to me and I made a great deal of friends.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>After missing the fair last year, he’s glad to be back where he was, at the indoor arena, surrounded by sheep.</p><p>Last year, Good was diagnosed with lymphoma. After a year of chemotherapy, his doctor told him he was in remission, but he still needs to go in for a round of chemotherapy every month for the next two years. </p><p>As a child in Kewanee, Ill., Good raised cheviot sheep. His time around sheep brought him to fairs all over Illinois starting when he was a high school freshman, he said.</p><p>“I usually would have five fairs a summer,” Good said. “My first fair was the Henry County 4-H fair in Cambridge, Ill., and my dad and I and my mother used to go to the fairs. I had a Willys station wagon. I’d clean that out and put straw in it. My five sheep went in there and away we went. One year I went to the state fair and I got Grand Champion ram.”</p><p>He joined the Kewanee Kingpins 4-H club, later becoming vice president, and then president. He also taught full-time in Illinois for 38 years. His son, living in Franklin, convinced him to move in 2005, Good said.</p><p>After moving to Franklin, he started substitute teaching in Franklin schools, and met Kevin Findley, an auctioneer for the 4-H livestock auction conducted at the conclusion of the fair. He also met Cathy Harrell, who owns Harrell’s Country Market in Trafalgar, and Teresa Wuensch, the fair’s sheep superintendent at the time. Through those friendships, he was able to start volunteering with the sheep project at the Johnson County fair, where he remains today, he said.</p><p>“The fair is unique,” Good said. “Number one is the exhibitors and the families, they’re extra special in my book. They’re very considerate and the kids have been very cordial to me and they know I’m there to help. I got here first thing in the morning. I was here around 8:30 and I went to each (exhibitor) I found and said ‘how are you doing?’ ‘do you have any questions?’ and ‘good luck to you.’ They love that.”</p>
