Meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 pm at the Pippin Center at Melvill Hall at the UW Richland Campus.


Good morning.  I apologize to anyone who receives this more than once, some of you are on multiple contact lists =)

As many have heard, the Richland County Fair Board is having an open public opinion night at the Pippin Center at Melvill Hall at the UW- Richland Campus to listen to the community about changing the fair date.  They don’t currently have a date that they are looking at, and will not be voting that night.  They are only listening to considerations of moving the fair before school begins.  PLEASE come out and support moving date before school begins!

If you filled out the survey, great and THANKS!  In addition, consider calling your fair board members.  They (that great they committee =) say that if you call an elected official, that person will weight your call as if four people have spoken to them because so many people don’t take the time to contact their local officials.  I’ve included the fair board members and their phone numbers below.

Buford Marshall – 583-3372

Marilyn Marshall – 647-3168

Virginia Wiedenfeld – 585-3855

Warren Pfeil – 647-8659

Just a little info for you also.  One of the reasons this is happening is that the 4-H Vision to Action committee recognized that one of the trends in our county was older members dropping out of 4-H their last few years of eligibility.  One of the main reasons was that they were busy with school and sports and could not take projects to the fair since it was during the school year.  Also, seniors were dropping out because they would be away to college when the fair for that project year came around.  We don’t want to lose these older youth, they are a HUGE asset to our clubs and Richland County 4-H program.

Another challenge was that many adults that would be available and would like to help with the fair in a volunteer position or a judging a project.  In addition, many community groups struggle to find volunteers to staff their booths during the fair and have to rely on hiring people, cutting into their profits.

In speaking to vendors, they share that on Friday evenings, the have very few customers all the local schools have a football game, drawing people away from the fair.

There are many more reasons for moving the fair date, and I’m sure everyone has their own personal reasons.  Please take the time to voice your concerns to the Fairboard.  Thank you!

Melissa Sprecher