ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Some are calling the 2024 Five State Fair one of the more successful in recent history, but with several members lacking on the fair board, future fairs are in danger of not taking place.
Currently, the Five State Fair Board has two members, Mary Rose and Mike Amerin, and a total of 11, five who are appointed by the Seward County Commission and six by the fair association, are needed.
For this reason, Rose said she and Amerin are looking to get more members on the fair board.
“In order for us to move forward with the fair, we have to have more board members,” she said. “Sometimes, there’s a misconception of who can be on the board. You can live out of state. You don’t have to live in Kansas to be on the board, and you can also live in a different county to be on the board.”
Rose said those who cannot make it to board meetings in person can call into the meeting, and the board is also looking to implement Zoom as a means of attending.
“We have a board meeting every month,” she said. “During fair season, it’s all hands on deck. It’s volunteer time. We try to make it where you can attend and know what’s going on within this board.”
After a person is appointed to the fair board, Rose said they are assigned to a committee to handle certain parts of the fair.
“Whatever your niche is, whatever you think you can be good at and where you can be helpful at, we have you sign up for a committee,” she said. “We normally put not just you but people to help you as well. We make the committees up, and if you have something that drives you and you’re good at and you want to be a part of that, we’re going to put you on the committee to move forward and be successful.”
A membership drive is scheduled to take place from 2 to 3 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Seward County Administration Building, and Rose called the event an imperative meeting.
“If we’re not able to meet our 11 board members, there’s definitely going to have to be a future discussion about what happens to this 112-year-old tradition, what’s the Five State Fair going to look for Seward County residents and what happens to funding,” she said. “I don’t want to have to have those discussions in the future. I want to continue on the fair board. It’s been in Seward County for 112 years. By statute, Seward County is to have a fair.”
With 4-H already in place and FFA now a part of USD 480, USD 483 and USD 210, Rose said not having a fair creates a domino effect.
“If it doesn’t proceed forward, what happens to the 4-H’ers?” she said. “What happens to the FFA? What happens to Wild West District, and what happens to our agriculture? What are we saying to our kids? How are we going to implement that in the future? For me, to keep the preservation of the fair and to move forward with that, this is imperative. It’s an imperative meeting.”
Like others, Rose called the 2024 Five State Fair a quite successful fair.
“A lot of people came out to the derby,” she said. “We had 200 to 300 people at the derby. We had 25 judges who came from Liberal, Hugoton, Gruver. I was in charge of the poultry and rabbit barn. We were full that morning, but due to the heat and because it was Five State, not a lot of residents got to see in the evening that the barn was full. It was so full, we were running out of pens.”
Last year’s fair likewise saw rabbits, chickens and turkeys for children to see, as well as bucket calves.
“We had 21 head of cattle that showed up, and we had 13 sheep entries,” Rose said. “We had 76 vendors KSCB helped bring in. We also had the demolition derby and a lot of free stuff in the evenings for the community to enjoy.”
Rose said the livestock auction brought in more than $12,000 for local 4-H youth. She said this is instrumental, saying the mortar has been built and the fair board needs to get bricks in place to continue the fair’s success.
“It’s getting taller,” she said. “It’s getting nicer. We’ve got a lot of friends on the fair and businesses that have helped in moving it forward and making it successful, and I don’t want that to end. We need to build with what we have and move forward with that. We had so many entries. It was jam packed with all the cases. The Catholic church came out and did the concession stand. They were there the whole time. We had food vendors there.”
Rose said what has been implemented at the fair has worked thus far.
“We’ve realized what’s worked and what hasn’t worked,” she said. “We know what we need to cut and what we need to stay with. Last year I felt was extremely successful.”
Rose said the tractor pull at last year’s fair was a huge success as well.
“We talked about doing that again, bringing that back,” she said. “We had more than 20 entries and more than 150 spectators during the tractor pull. It was free. They were able to walk in and watch them do it. That tells me the farmers are still heavy in our area, and it’s important.”
With many fair board members having full-time jobs, Rose said members choose which events they will help out with and at what time they will help out with them.
“In the evening after 5, it’s usually all hands on deck,” she said. “Everybody’s there. At that time, we had eight active at the fair.”
Rose said many of the people who are no longer fair board members had family and health issues, and some were appointed to one-year terms by the county commission.
“From the time the fair starts to the time it ends, their term is over,” she said. “For the association, we’re on for three years. Mike and I are the lacking of the three-year term, and this is our last year for the term to be re-elected in the association.”
Rose said some discussion has taken place in regards to downsizing the Five State Fair to a county fair like those in neighboring counties.
“We’ve been throwing around some ideas and going back and forth,” she said. “We’ve asked the commission to look at re-evaluating our contracts with them.”
Rose said the fair association has always put on the fair, but when thoughts turn to fair time, thoughts also turn to events and fun. She added many over the years have simply assumed entertainment would be part of the fair.
“There’s so many things that come into the whole group,” she said. “We’ve talked about having just the fair, having the 4-H, invite the Wild West District to do their part in the fair and go back to the basics.”
Rose said part of the reason for last year’s success was a return to basics.
“We didn’t do anything elaborate,” she said. “We didn’t have anything big. We had the derby, and we had the antique tractor pull. Those are considered entertainment. We’ve talked about coordinating and facilitating with the Seward County Event Center.”
Rose said ultimately, the fair association was designed to uphold the statute of facilitating a fair in Seward County.
“We facilitate the fair, and the fairgrounds is ours during that time,” she said. “We invite the 4-H, which is now the Wild West District, to that fair.”
Rose said for now, fair planning is back to basics.
“We have surrounding counties that have small fairs, and I feel that’s where we’re at,” she said. “We’re with them because of the economical and the demographic of everything. We are at that point with them where our fair is no different than Stevens County, Haskell County, Meade County in its size.”
Fair board meetings were originally set for the third Thursday of each month, but with a new year started, Rose said she and Amerin are open to what works best for the group when it comes to meeting times.
“We do meet once a month, and we meet normally on the fairgrounds in a facility there,” she said.
The Five State Fair traditionally takes place the first full week of August, and Rose said when the calendar turns to July, meetings increase to a weekly basis.
“We finish up and tie up loose ends,” she said. “In July, it gets a little hectic. We’re trying to finish up getting ready for the fair, but a lot of that has to do with entertainment. The magnitude of making sure all our i’s are dotted and our t’s are crossed on an entertainment contract or facilitating that, making sure everything’s in line with that is a lot of work.”
Rose said many people do not understand some of the roles fair board members play or the importance of having multiple members.
“It’s not something one or two people can do,” she said. “It takes an entire group of people to come up with ideas and facilitate and put that together. There are so many parts that come together. In the end, it’s a beautiful masterpiece, and I absolutely love the fair. I’ve come to the fair my whole life.”
Rose said the magnitude of putting on an event such as the Five State Fair has to be thought of in big terms.
“It takes not an army, but it does take at least a handful of people to put it together,” she said. “Having the 11 board members is essential. It’s also required in the bylaws of the association.”
Rose said new members bring fresh and new ideas to the table.
“It’s always wonderful to have new blood in,” she said. “People who have been agriculture and livestock travel. They’re on many boards, and they travel. They go where the need is and where their expertise is and where they can do the best and focus on the future for the kids and try to get them through the whole thing and do it right. Having somebody out of state or out of a different county isn’t hard.”
Once a member is appointed, they are appointed to a committee that features something they are passionate about and good at doing.
“We try to maneuver that,” Rose said. “We’re not going to just throw you out to the wolves when you come on. It is a collaboration of all minds together to make that beautiful thing at the end. We’re not in this to fail. Sometimes, Plan A doesn’t work, so sometimes, we have to go to Plan B or Plan C. Weather comes into play. This year, we had to move the pedal pull indoors because it was raining. We want to find that particular spark you have and put that into how you can help make it great for the citizens of Seward County at fair time.”
Many upgrades are currently taking place at the fairgrounds, and Rose said the end goal is utilizing the fairgrounds year-round to facilitate many events with livestock, agriculture, parties and dances, as well as utilizing the livestock buildings, rodeo arena and grandstands for other purposes.
“Ultimately, that’s the vision everybody has for those grounds,” she said. “We all know if something is not used, it starts to get dilapidated. Those grounds have been with us for many, many years, and those barns have served the purpose and still serve the purpose. Moving forward with that, sometimes, something just needs a simple coat of paint to make it nice and bright and move on for the next years.”
The agriculture department at Seward County Community College also uses the fairgrounds for shows, and Rose said a phenomenal amount of people have come to those shows.
“To serve its purpose right now for 4-H and open class, they’re fine,” she said. “We’re not having any issues with it.”
Rose said current board members can reapply, as there are no term limits for the fair board.
“October would be when my term would be up with the association, and I could say I want to be in for another three years,” she said. “For those who want to get their feet wet and see what it’s about, the one-year is nice.”
Rose said she hopes the Feb. 8 membership drive will bring the community together to help the fair. She emphasized the need to have an adequate number of board members.
“If we don’t meet where we have a quorum of board members, from that moment on, it’s going to have to be further discussion about having to dissolve,” she said. “With that comes many other discussions with many people in place.”
