Kent County Youth Fair - Board Meeting Minutes

June 13, 2018

Call to Order: The June 13 meeting was called to order by President Jon Bieneman at 7:31 p.m. in the King Memorial Youth Center

and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Attendance

Directors Present: Jon Bieneman, Bruce Doll, Denise Stain, Nicki Deuling, Heather Everett, Travis Gemmell, Cathy Hesche, Mike

Mager, Sydney Gladding, Emily Kropf, Joanna Link, Justin Perry

Directors Absent: Samantha Norman, John Schut, Duane Watson,

Staff Present: Jessica Marks, Karlye Ordway

Others Present: Maruszka Hufstader, Matt Weldon, Martin Canfield, Chris Schmaltz, Alex Vandevender, Mary Newman, Gail

Roderick, Mary Crosby, Natasha Peterman, Dale Thompson

Secretary’s Report: 2018-6-1 Denise Stain moved to accept the minutes as presented. Heather Everett seconded the motion. The

motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: See attached. 2018-6-2 Nicki Deuling moved to accept the treasurer’s report as presented. Cathy Hesche

seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Extension Reports: See attached.

Fair Manager: See attached.

Committee Reports

Buildings & Grounds: Things are in full swing and getting busy. The roof on the King Building is in need of repair. We also need a

push mower.

Auction: Met with Donna Oesch about doing the buyer’s dinner. Getting buyer’s numbers.

Fair Book: Taking changes for 2019.

Finance: See attached.

Still Exhibit Auction: Meeting with Beth Perry after the council meeting on Monday, June 18 on how to proceed along with anyone

else who is interested.

Long-Term Planning: Meijer has pledged $150,000 to the capital campaign. The Township planning commission will be holding a

public hearing on Monday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m. for the finalizing of the wording for the special Fairground use permit.

Marketing: Got Reading for Rides bookmarks with Flat Out Fair on one side distributed to schools and libraries. Starting to work on

the brochure, still exhibit and livestock auction.

Nominating: If interested, let John Schut know. Make sure your dues are paid.

Publicity: Booking radio and TV.

Royal Court: Parade season has started.

Sweepstakes: All on track. Waiting on superintendents for changes to their portion of the study packet.

Sponsorship: We have two new sponsors. Honey Creek and E-motion Controls.

Still Exhibits: Have a few new judges.

Technology: Getting more cameras for security. Looking for a memory board for the printer.

Entertainment: Disc golf will be on the football field with various contests and all for free. Bluegrass will be strolling on Saturday.

Tractor Pull is on Monday. PFCU is going to offer financial information for kids. It will be for one hour probably on Tuesday at 3:00.

Other Reports: Cathy Hesche met with two plumbers on sump pumps for Deer Run. One has sent a bid but we are still waiting on

the other. Cathy also met with Trademark Electric. The quote will include all that is needed for the banquet facility, arena, and phase

one, along with everything needed for the rest of the project. Cathy is also working with contacts she has in law enforcement to get

background checks going.

Guest Services: Brandi Doll is going to staff it again.

Superintendent Reports:

Dairy: Thirty-five years ago, on July 8, Freddie Oesch passed away. He had a steer that was sold at the livestock auction and all of

the money went to the fair. Joanna Link would like to sell her steer in his honor and donate the money to the dairy barn capital

campaign. Freddie is Joanna’s uncle.

Beef: The preview show was good. Most kids ever. There were about 60 kids and 80 cattle. Judge has been hired.

Sheep: Tim Bergy has to resign as superintendent effective immediately. 2018-6-3 Moved by Nicki Deuling and seconded by Cathy

Hesche to accept Tim’s resignation with regret. Motion passed.

2018-6-4 Moved by Cathy Hesche and seconded by Denise Stain to have Jon Bieneman and John Schut to run the sheep department

for this year. Motion passed. A lot of other people will be around to help as well. A proposal on how to proceed after fair will be

submitted.

Safety: Tim Bergy will not be able to head up safety. We will talk to Chrissy Frey as she has gotten donations, etc. in the past. Might

be a good idea to have a class on first aid for all superintendents and others. We will check with the Lowell Fire Department.

Goat: Meeting to do soap making. There will be two showmanship workshops.

Swine: There are 179 kids and 358 pigs registered. Forty-nine of which are for carcass.

Horse: Last Wednesday was the first River Run show. There were 75+ participants. This was equal to their highest count during

midseason last year. There will be one more work night in July. PA system in the barns needs to be checked.

Performing Arts: We still need a superintendent for this area.

Old Business:

Press Release Writer: Proposal is attached. 2018-6-5 Moved by Cathy Hesche and seconded by Bruce Doll to accept the proposal as

written. Motion passed. Denise Stain will be our press release writer and will be paid $25 per release.

Service Learning Project: A list of projects completed is included in the attached managers’ report.

Work nights: Wednesday work nights will begin on June 27. We will break for July 4 and resume on July 11. Love week is during our

first Wednesday work night. The kids will paint the inside of the rabbit barn. The apple trees and fence for Ag Adventure needs to

be painted too. More power washing needs to be done. We will hold a brief meeting during the July 11 work night.

Superintendents can give their lists of what they need done. Clubs can come out and can help with those lists. Start time for work

nights is 4:00 until whenever.

People Mover: We have had no success in finding a trailer to use to get it yet. The people mover is 7’ tall, 20.5’ long and 8.5’ wide.

This includes the tongue.

New Business

Insurance: We received a quote from Capsure Insurance Group. It has more coverage than our previous carrier and is only $24

more. It also has the option to cover exhibitors and volunteers at $.35e. They will be covered for any KCYF sponsored event. 2018-

6-6 Moved by Denise Stain and seconded by Heather Everett to approve the policy and include the exhibitor/volunteer coverage.

Motion passed.

We can also have mortality for animals that die on the grounds. Inbound transportation is the responsibility of the exhibiters. For

outbound the truckers should cover for ones not making weight. We are confirming this and waiting for a quote for this option.

Department Fundraising – Item #10 from the Finance Committee report. 2018-6-7 Moved by Cathy Hesche and seconded by Nicki

Deuling that each department fundraiser for the capital campaign must raise 40% of the current projected amount for their barn by

August 15, 2020 in order for the amount to be used for their barn. If such funds are raised, we will hold them until all funds are

raised to complete the barn. If the 40% is not raised by August 15, 2020, then the proceeds of the fundraising will be redirected into

the general capital campaign account for use on the new grounds as a whole. Motion passed. Savings accounts will be opened at

Choice One for each department that begins fundraising.

Fence: We received three quotes for decorative fencing along the Cascade Road. 2018-6-8 Moved by Denise Stain and seconded by

Heather Everett to table the quotes until we know what will be required by the Township. Motion passed.

Banquet Business Name: 2018-6-9 Moved by Cathy Hesche and seconded by Heather Everett to rebrand the banquet business,

Deer Run, to The Fair Way. Motion passed. This will be contingent on review by an accountant and legal counsel.

4-H Council Fundraising: Item #5 of the finance committee report. The 4-H Council has expressed interest in running the Still

Exhibit Auction for a percentage of the Fair’s take. 2018-6-10 Moved by Denise Stain and seconded by Heather Everett to offer the

4-H council 1% of the Fair’s retained dollar amount from the auction in order for them to provide 4-5 people to run the windows,

etc. during the auction. The fair’s retained amount is 5%. The fair would actually get 4% and the 4-H council will get 1%. Motion

passed.

Riverwalk Parade: The theme is “Dancing in the Streets”. They need 75 people to help with the line-up and they would like to get

youth involved. The parade is on Saturday, July 14.

Love Week: Week of June 25. They will prime and paint the inside of the King Building and replace the lights if time permits, fix the

lunch tables, and replace the lights in the beef barn.

Tent Layout: Some changes will need to be made for the Alpacas and Goats.

Public Comments: Bruce Doll has 3 XXL shirts for whoever would like them.

Correspondence: None

2018-6-11 Heather Everett moved to adjourn. Cathy Hesche seconded the motion. The motion passed and the meeting was

adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nicki Deuling

Secretary

NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday, July 11 at 7:30 pm – Regular monthly Fair Board meeting

Other important dates: Monday, July 9 at 7:00 is the Township Planning Commission meeting.

Wednesday, July 11 is also a work night.