Minutes of Ag Society June Board Meeting Released

The Hardin County Agricultural Society met last week for their June monthly board meeting.  

Fourteen directors and five guests were present.

Here are the complete minutes of the meeting that were submitted:

HARDIN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
June Board Meeting
June 7, 2023

The Hardin County Agricultural Society met Wednesday, June 7, 2023, for their June monthly board meeting. Fourteen directors and five guests were present.

Brad Murphy, Board President, called the meeting to order.

Emily Overs thanked everyone while she was an FFA Advisor for Hardin Northern and stated she hopes to still help with the Fair Committees she was assigned to, as she’s still living in Hardin County.

A thank you note was received from the Kenton OHP chapter, for their use of the grounds, for their Ag Day.

The directors moved to close the Season Ticket Account at Middlefield Bank, d/t inactivity and no longer selling season tickets in the community. The gas bills from the previous year and ½ year budget were reviewed.

Rob Wilson, Ground’s Chairman, gave a ground’s committee update. Rob gave quotes from 2 places willing to do pest control at the fairgrounds and gave his suggestion on who to use for fire protection. Directors agreed to use LandTech for pest control and Stump Fire Protection for fire protection. The committee also wanted to thank Catherine Scharf for mowing in May.

It was noted the Cushman Scooter Club did not have a lot of campers during their event in May and that might have been their last year using the fairgrounds for their event. It was noted the Good Sam RV campers will be hosting their event the first week of July and are expecting around 125 campers.

Christa Rarey is working on getting a contract with Shifferly Road Band for the fair, contracts for the children’s artists have been obtained and the committee is looking for a DJ for some dances during the fair. The Committee is also looking for some grandstand ticket booth help and pit workers for the rodeo. An application to apply for these jobs will be on our website. Organizations are encouraged to apply for these paid positions. Only 3-6 people will be needed for each job. Director agreed to pay the pit workers $300 total for each event and pay the grandstand ticket booth help $100 plus up to 3 day passes for each event. Rob Wilson noted that Dean Peas will be the speaker for the Hour of Inspiration and music will be provided by the Kenton Top 20. Judi Cronley noted hotel rooms have been secured for gate workers, wrestlers, woodcarver, horse racing, magic man and the mobile glass blower.

Judi stated she still needs livestock judges for Dairy, Dairy Beef Feeders/Dairy Steers, Wednesday Beef Show and Fancy Poultry. The Horse Committee is committed to having a zero-tolerance helmet rule for 4-H members this year during practices and horse shows. Violation of the current state 4-H helmet rules on the Hardin County Fairgrounds will result in the violating exhibitor being ineligible to participate at the Hardin County Fair. Violations occurring during practice events prior to the fair will result in the member being ineligible to show at the year’s fair and violations occurring during the Hardin County Fair (shows or practices) will result in exhibitors being ineligible to show in the following year’s fair. The Fair Board agreed to back the horse committee on this rule. It was noted the Sheep weigh in is scheduled for this Saturday, June 10th from 8am-10am and the goat weigh in is scheduled for this Saturday, June 10th from 10-11am.

Vendor/Concession applications can still be filled out online at www.hardincountyfair.org. Payment is needed after they are approved.

Sherri Beale, JR Fair Board Advisor, stated their floor in the JR Fair Board office is being redone with memorial money.

It was noted sponsorship money and applications continue to be accepted online through the fair’s website. There has been one new Reserve Champion sponsor added so far this year, that being “It Takes Heart Ohio”.

The Tech. Committee is installing a keyless entry for the Secretary’s Office door with grant money and Docu Sign is now being utilized.

The Hardin County Fair Reverse Raffle Event was discussed. It will be held on Saturday, Feb. 10th at 6pm, with the meal starting at 6:30pm. Tickets will cost $100 with one meal included an additional meal will cost $30. A cooler charge will be $10. The grand prize will be $7500, with the total payout being $12,000. Only 300 tickets will be sold, and all tickets will hopefully be sold prior to this year’s fair.

It was noted the 2023 Hardin County Fair Book is now online and can be found at www.hardincountyfair.org. A limited number of hard copies are available in the Secretary’s Office

Under old business:
A fair judge is still needed for woodworking. Corey Ledley gave an update on the ground’s sound project. Corey was given the go head to start purchasing the hardware with the state grant money for the project. It was noted JR Fair exhibitors can now make their fair entries online until July 31st. Judi noted the 2021 and 2022 audit continues.

Under new Business:
The next Fair Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12th at 7pm in the Community Building, it was noted this is one-week later d/t the July 4th Holiday.