EDITORIAL: A community effort pays off each year

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 16, 2022

Today is the final day of events and another Lawrence County Fair is in the history books.

As one of the biggest crowd draws in the county each year, the event is a large undertaking and many work hard to see that it is a success each year.

Fair board president Randy Lambert has overseen the event in recent years, working year round on its planning. This has not been an easy task, with the COVID-19 pandemic complicating things, even leading to a cancellation in 2020.

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Chris Collier, of the board, has been responsible for the midway attractions, booking vendors and things such as the Monkey Man and the Dino-ROAR show, which entertained attendees this year.

As extension educator for the county’s 4-H and FFA programs, Rachael Fraley coordinates the animal programs, not just in fair competitions, but in the months leading up to the big event.

Volunteers and the 4-H and FFA members of the Junior Fair Board also deserve commendation for their leadership and organizing of the competition.

These programs not only teach farming and agricultural skills, but go great lengths to instill civic mindedness and other values in their members.

We saw quite a few former 4-Hers, now grown out of the program, who came back and helped with events — one of those being Montana Runnels, who now serves on the Senior Fair Board and helped take a group from PALS, a South-Point based care agency that help adults with disabilities, on a tour of the midway.

It is also a testament to the event that so many multi-generation fair families continue to take part, with parents and grandparents coming, not just to cheer on their own family, but to support all the youth involved.

And this year’s fair also got a boost from the Lawrence County commissioners, who voted earlier to use COVID-19 relief funds to pay down the loan on the fair’s barn, helping to make the event more financially stable.

From police working security to volunteers at the gate to those who assist with stuck cars after rains made the ground muddy, there are so many who put in the time to give the county a successful fair.

We see the best of the county on display each year at the fair and we salute all who contributed.

— And, as has been the case the past few years, we extend a special thanks to Kayla Niece,the fair’s official photographer, for all of her much-appreciated assistance in The Tribune’s coverage of the event and helping us to thoroughly report on it.