Support the fair, and say thank you

To the editor: 

Canceled. Postponed. Rescheduled.

The amount of times that we have seen these three words is greater than any number that we can count on our fingers and toes. It is disappointment after disappointment anymore. Many annual community events have had to cancel and move to next year.

However, there is still light for some events. One of these being The Great Jay County Fair.

Both the Jay County Fair Board and Jay County 4-H Council and staff have put lots of tears, arguments, late nights and early mornings to still host a fair for this amazing community. This is truly a time for this community to come together and enjoy what these organizations have put on for us despite the year we have had.

Although these two organizations are separate, they both came together for one cause, to provide the community with a fair. The Jay County Fair Board has scaled down the fair greatly, but the amount of events from day to day is still packed full of fun.

Many people don’t realize how much effort and work it takes to put on a fair every year. There is not a single day that a fair board member isn’t thinking or doing something for the fair. Even after a tough year financially, the fair board still does everything in its power to put on a superb fair.

With a world pandemic currently, it was a tough decision to make for the fair board, especially after a rough year. Despite all of this, the board’s determination persevered and it wanted to do something for our community. Many fairs around the state just scrapped their fair, but our fair board is much different; they have more passion, drive and awareness for our community needs.

The fair board has extended its hand in cooperation with many other organizations such as the Jay County FFA to help them during tough times with their banquet. This really goes to show that the fair board is passionate about community needs and will always be an organization that helps out when the help is needed. This is what makes the Jay County Fair great.

The 4-H council and all 4-H staff members have worked diligently and very hard to have animals at this year’s fair for many youth and community members. Many seniors have already missed out on so much this year, but the council and staff wanted to make their last year in 4-H count. With much intense work put in by the 4-H council, they worked hand-in-hand with Purdue in order to have an in-person fair.

Again, many 4-H fairs didn’t want to deal with everything that came with an in-person fair, so they took the easy way out. However, our council and staff are not that way. They always are looking for what is in the best interest of the youth, they truly want to make the best better.

Although a lot of the work is done already, there is still much to do as we approach the fair and 4-H is tackling it with the most positivity and grace as possible. They truly care about the youth that make up 4-H and want to see them grow and prosper. They are allowing youth like me to face real-life situations and are teaching us how to work around tough times like these.

Both organizations want to serve our community, help us and put on something that we can enjoy. It is time that we come together as a community to appreciate these organizations and give back to them after all the hard work, dedication and passion they put into a fair for the community.

Make sure you come out to the fair this coming week, show your support and make sure to thank the amazing men and women who put on The Great Jay County Fair. 

Lucas Lyons

Rural Portland