IN 1932 when Dan O'Keeffe was six-months-old his parents took him to the first ever Noorat Show.
That family outing started a special tradition with Mr O'Keeffe attending 88 Noorat Shows, including last years.
Sadly Mr O'Keeffe passed away last week leaving behind a community with memories of a special character.
Former Noorat Show president Paul Grayland said Mr O'Keeffe had a very strong Irish heritage and a quirky sense of humour.
"He was a bit of a character not just with the show but with the whole district," he said.
"He just loved talking to people and people loved talking to Dan."
Before retiring to Terang Mr O'Keeffe was a dairy farmer in Glenormiston and served on the show committee for more than 50 years.
"Dan participated in all aspects of the show," Mr Grayland said.
"He was a steward in the horse section and just loved being involved in the organisation."
Mr Grayland said Mr O'Keeffe would be remembered fondly for his ability to sell members tickets to the show.
He said most committee members sold about half a dozen tickets but being the people person he was Mr O'Keeffe would sell more than 50 member tickets every year.
"It was by far the highest number of tickets that anyone on the committee would ever sell, he just had so many contacts," Mr Grayland said.
"We promote our show as the family show and it's very much evolved that way. Families come back Noorat Show weekend and have reunions and great family gatherings.
"A lot of people come to the show and they mightn't get involved at looking at cattle or horses but they meet people that they only see once a year and Dan was certainly right into that."
