The Time is Always Right To Do What is Right – A Congress Lost and Found Story

By Delores Kuhlwein

When you attend the fairgrounds in any given state at any horse show, you don’t really expect white glove service. In fact, at many facilities where we show our horses, we often are happy to have a functional and (relatively) clean restroom to use.

What you’ll find at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, however, in a humble part of town that has long since seen its heyday provides a breath of fresh air. Literally.

When you walk into the restroom at the Quarter Horse Congress, whether it be in the Celeste Center, or the Adequan building, or in the Coliseum, not only are you met with a fresh scent and sparkly clean floors and fixtures, but you’ll also find a smiling, friendly face –sometimes more than one – to greet you at any given time.

The hard work and kindness of the restroom attendants at Ohio Expo Center are almost as legendary as the Congress itself, and stories abound of their dedication and connections to the exhibitors.

One such tale about one of the Adequan restroom attendants recently made its rounds on the Congress Facebook forum – a worker known for her diligence and service had won a jackpot of over $11k at the casino the night before, yet she still showed up at work the next day for what exhibitors enthusiastically called a job well done.

We All Share the Same Heart

Now, an even more remarkable story has emerged from the show, one that points to the heart of humankind, and demonstrates that no matter how varied all our backgrounds are, we all share a common goal.

Enter Kay Shazier, one of the dedicated attendants in the Celeste Center, likely a familiar face to many of our readers, since we all spend a significant amount of time in Columbus for this prestigious event.

Kay, it seems, was doing her usual rounds in the bathroom one particular day, and as she was wiping down the fixtures, she noticed something – a very sparkly something – out of place on the toilet tissue dispenser.  “I noticed the ring up there, and I turned it in to the front desk,” says Kay.

That sparkly ring was none other than a Strickland family heirloom, a ring that had belonged to the late aunt of Jerry Strickland.  “The last couple years of her life, we had been really close,” explains exhibitor Vickie Strickland, Jerry’s wife.  “She left me everything, and I didn’t know until pretty much the end, and that’s how this ring became mine.”

Vickie tells the familiar tale of going into the restroom but wanting to rush back to watch the class, and in her struggles to get her shirt tucked in, the ring kept getting in the way.  “I laid it up on the dispenser, and I had already gone back to the bus when I realized, and we went flying back over there in the golf cart. It was a short distance, but it seemed to take forever,” she explains.

When they arrived, of course, the ring was gone, so in a panic they began to check various sites on the grounds. However, when they got to the front desk, they were flooded with relief to find the ring had been returned.

“One of the girls said one of their cleaners, Kay, had turned it in, and for three days we tried to find her, since she had turned it in right before her days off,” explains Vickie.  “I was so thankful, and we wanted to reward her for her honesty – that’s such a unique thing these days, and I appreciate it so very much.”

A few days later, upon learning Kay was back on duty, as they ran to the Celeste Center, Jerry asked Vickie if they had any cash. “I’m scrambling through my purse, and I found the brand-new $100 bill I had toted around for three days while hoping to find her,” Vickie says.

When they did, Vickie gave it to Kay discreetly and hugged her, thanking her for her honesty.  “We just appreciate it so, so much.  It’s so refreshing, and her kindness was just a wonderful thing,” says Vickie.

The Equine Chronicle caught up to Kay afterward as she was back at work, making the Celeste Center a better place for everyone in more ways than one.  The ring was a family heirloom, Kay had been told after she returned it. “That’s what they say, yes. It could have paid my rent, my car payment, everything!” jokes Kay.  “I’m truly honored to get it back to her.”

Just as Martin Luther King once said, “The time is always right to do what is right. You could start right now by doing a small part to treat people with dignity, courtesy and respect.”

That same philosophy also belongs to none other than Kay Shazier, who spreads her own light in the city of Columbus. “It was just the right thing to do,” Kays.  “Just the right thing – it’s part of my job. I’m truly glad she came back to get it.”