Florida Fair News Clay County Agricultural Fair


“Country Roots & Cowboy Boots” By Pete Sutton


We enjoyed a n o t h e r successful Fair! Our new theme w a s “C o unt r y Roots


Co wb o y Boots” We set a new atten- dance re-


cord this year. Total attendance was 110, 078 + 6.49%. We track zip codes during our fair to determine out of


county guests. This year over 17,000 codes were en- tered. Results were 49% were from out of county. Of these, 2.34% were from out of state. Our reputation continues to attract out of county guests. We received a nice complimentary call after the fair from a family in Northern Ontario Canada. They were on “holiday” in the St. Augustine area and googled local events to find our fair. They came two days. They enjoyed our Early Flor- ida Village and our emphasis on agriculture…made us proud! Our opening day ribbon cutting was done again by


Channel 4 Meteorologist Richard Nunn and the Board of Directors. For a change, we enjoyed good weather on opening day and were up 59%...great way to start. Our High School Night of Competition was a big success. Local judges were on hand to make sure each high school team played by the rules. The team from Clay High School was the first place winner and the Spirit Award going to Middleburg High School. Friday was Fair Day. All local schools were out for the


fair. Great weather produced super results; we were up 85%; over 16,000 guests attended; we missed our Fri- day Sales Record, which was set in 2011 by 62. Saturday was a good day but behind last year 27%.


This was due to the Gators on TV and weather threats (rained over an inch within a mile of the fair). We were also going against our single day record. However, we still enjoyed a good day with lots of entertainment in- cluding lawn mower races and DeWayne Spaw with pre- race entertainment. We enjoyed YPI visitors Miranda Muir, Osce- ola County, Ismael Ramos, Mi- ami-Dade and President Gayle Hart. We were honored to have them attend our fair. We were down Sunday through but


Tuesday up Wednesday


through closing Saturday. The last three days were perfect Flor- ida Fair weather. Entertainment was fantastic! Main Stage concert entertainers


Our Florida YPI members enjoyed a day at the Clay County Fair (left to right): Wayne Heath, Chairman of the Board Derrell Kelly, Director, Mary Lou Wilkinson, Director, Sheryl Hartzog, Director, Jackie Collins, Office Assistant, Karen Brown, Office Manager, Pete Sutton, Manager, Miranda Muir, Osceola County Manager, Steve Muir, Ismael Ramos, Miami Dade, Rick Rivers, Director, Tommy Gann, Director


17


included: Stephen Cary, Thomas Rhett, Chloe Channell, Diamond Rio, Jamie Davis with Rion Paige, Swon Broth- ers, and Kellie Pickler. We enjoyed a special appearance just prior to the


Kellie Pickler concert from the Jacksonville Jaguars in- cluding General Manager Dave Caldwell, Coach Gus Bradley, The Roar Cheerleaders, D-line and Jaxon De- ville. Strolling acts and characters


included: Washboard


Willy, Denny the Rodeo Clown, Chic-Fil-A Cow, Ronald McDonald, Wolfie, Garbear, Daisy and the Sweeney Family Band. Ground/Stage acts included: Spectacular 80 High Dive


&


Show, Frog Jumping Show, Rosaire’s Royal Pig Races, Disc-Connected K-9’s World Famous Frisbee Dogs, Den- nis Lee Band, Ron Diamond’s Hypnosis & Magic Show, and Sweeney Family Band/Country Comedy Review. Our livestock barn was redesigned last year to better define the non-animal,


transition, and animal areas.


Warning signs were added as guests entered the “transition” areas. This change helped us create an en- tertainment stage and eating area in the barn. This year our stage was the Home Depot Entertainment Stage. It was well received. The 4-H/FFA Youth Livestock Sale produced $223,325


for 94 local 4-H and FFA participants to help with their college fund. Average price per pound for swine was $8.43 and $3.07 for steers. Competitive exhibits totals were down for the second


year in a row. We think this is due to the on-line entry system. We will address to modify for next year. Our demonstrations continue to improve. Our Early Florida Village is a “must see”


for our


guests. It is not only educational but fun and rewarding with a food treat from our country cooks. Milling roads and walkways were added this year to improve the mo- bility for our handicap guests. We continued our Communication Committee with our


concessionaires, as recommended by NICA. In addition, we were honored to have the Board of Directors visit on Friday night. See page 39.. Our recycling program achieved our best results ever.


Trash was down to 34.4 tons and only 7 pulls. We used one compactor for the entire fair complex. Cardboard, bottles, and can recycling improved from 2.84 tons to 5.41 tons; cooking oil from 2.63 to 3.0 Website visits totaled 79,623 during the fair. The top


five destinations after the home page were: Daily Schedule, Ticket Information, Get Directions, Coupons and Midway Rides. The surprise was the coupon page. Continued on page 18


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48