Athens County Agricultural Society
The Athens County Agricultural Society was organized May 19th in the year of 1828. Since then, there have been many changes in how the society runs as well as who has been in charge of the society.
Currently, the society has 18 members and the head of the organization is President Matt Day. Matt Day has been on the board of the society for two years and was elected as President in November of 2020. His term will expire on November 30th, 2022.
Matt Day said that he gets a small pay of $300 a year for being the president of the society. Day explained that this is because the Agricultural Society is a nonprofit organization.
“We, as board members, do not do this for the money,” said Day, “ We generate funds by the events held on the fairgrounds. We also rent all of the buildings whenever we can. The rental of the buildings is something that I personally want to become a big part of our income. I hope to have some kind of a nice area to hold weddings and other events in the near future. The goal would be to have the fairgrounds making money all year, instead of relying on the week of the fair to support it all.”
The Athens County Fair is one week out of each year where the community comes together and sees what the Agricultural Society has done to put it together. There have been mixed reviews about past fairs, and Day hopes that the 2021 fair will be enjoyable for all.
Community member, Abby Galway, had both good and bad things to say about the fair and how it has been run in the past. Galway has been to the fair a total of seven times growing up and plans to continue going with her friends and family, as it is an Athens staple.
“More recently I have found [the fair] to not be the safest environment or an acceptable place to be. There has been an issue with racism in regards to confederate flags being sold, which makes people uncomfortable” said Galway.
Although Galway portrays the fair to have issues with being racist and promoting racist flags, she says that there are many positives to holding the yearly event. A program, 4-H, plays a huge role in the Athens County Fair, time and time again.
The 4-H program is a youth development program for people between the ages of 5-19. The program specifically focuses on hands-on activity and active involvement in the community to provide informal education and lifelong experiences. This program strives to help individuals gain leadership experience and confidence that they can take with them beyond the program.
“In my opinion we [have the Agricultural Society] for the kids of the 4-H program. I grew up in the program and feel very strongly that it is a great thing for the community to be involved in. In today’s world there are so many things kids get into that takes them down the wrong path in life. In the 30 plus years I have been involved in the 4-H program, whether a member, advisor or board member, I have seen very few kids, if any, go down the wrong path in life that was actively involved in 4-H,” said Day.
Many members of the 4-H program show their livestock during the county fair. Some examples include, chickens, rabbits and dogs. The individuals in 4-H get to showcase the animals they have been taking care of, which provides a true staple to the county fair.
“It was always fun to hang out with my friends at the fair,” said Galway, “I had a lot of friends in 4-H who I would get to see with their animals, which created a lot of fond memories for me. The 4-H program was and is the best feature at the Athens fair.”
According to President Day, the community is also very supportive of the 4-H program every year. The 4-H animals are typically sold on Friday night during the week of the fair every year. This event brings a lot of excitement to the members of the community.
“[The money raised from the purchasing of animals] needs to be looked at as an investment in the youth of the community,” said Day, “The kids get to learn so much about life at the county fair. They learn how to win and lose, how to love and care for an animal and then let go of it. When I say love, I truly mean that these kids spend as much as six to seven hours a day during the summer with [the animals]. The kids work so hard just to bring [the animals] to the county fair so the community can see them.”
The Agricultural Society plans to feature the 4-H program at the fair for this upcoming year and many more to come. Due to not having the fair in 2020 because of COVID-19, there have been many changes implemented for this year’s fair.
Community member, Gabby Beeler, said she is excited that there will be a fair this summer and can’t wait to go.
“I have been to the fair 11 times, ever since I was nine years old,” said Beeler, “The fair always ran moderately well, but I have seen better from other county fairs throughout Ohio. Overall, I would give it a 6/10 and hope to see some changes.”
According to the society, there will be many updates in comparison to the last fair, run in 2019. While the hope is for things to be normal, they plan to follow suit with any COVID-19 regulations that are in place at the time that the fair will be held.
“We have installed a new sewer line all the way across the grounds this year and also placed new lights on the pulling track,” said Day, “All of this work was paid for with grants, and the labor was volunteered by board members and others. We have also hired a new ride company this year. I am excited about this because they have a lot nicer rides than we have had in the past.”
According to Day, the cost to run the fair varies each year, but is typically around $100,000. The Agricultural Society relies heavily on sponsors and donations throughout the year.
“Our big cost is the ride company which is $40,000. We also have nightly events at the grandstand that cost from $3,000 to $12,000 a night. The gate numbers have been going down over the last several years and I hope that the new ride company helps with this,” said Day.
The Athens County Fair will take place this year during the first week of August, the 6th-14th. Day hopes that many people will come participate in the fair to enjoy their time, as well as see just how impactful the 4-H program is in the community.
Until next time,
Mia White
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