Advisory June 22

Administrative Approvals and Personnel

  • Minutes Approval: A motion was made to approve the report as written. The motion was seconded and passed.
  • Treasurer’s Report: The report indicates the balance remains the same as of April. The budget has been updated to reflect all discussed numbers, removing previous handwritten notes (’scribbles’). A motion to approve the treasurer's report was made and seconded.
  • Junior Fair Board Personnel: Jennifer Reynolds has been hired as the Junior Fair Secretary. She will work alongside Marsha until the end of the year, at which point she will take over the position entirely.
  • Social Media: The board has hired a social media company, Riley Kin Kitty Social, to manage digital outreach.

Senior Fair Board Liaison and Infrastructure Projects

  • Grandstand Tickets: Sales for grandstand tickets begin this Saturday at 9 AM9\,AM. They will be available both online and in the fair office.
  • 250th Celebration Updates:
    • An oak tree was planted near Gate 44 (located across from the museum) as part of the state’s celebration distribution.
    • A new roof has been installed on the Colosseum.
    • The sign on the corner of Liberty Lincoln Way (near East of Chicago Pizza) was blown over during a windstorm that also damaged the fence. A new, more ’intrigued’ (intricate) sign is expected in July.
  • State Budget Grants: Meredith Craigs represented the fair in a successful grant application yielding over $300,000\$300,000. These funds are allocated for specific projects with a two-year completion timeline (starting around May or June of the current state budget period):
    • Installation of additional black perimeter fencing.
    • Transitioning lighting from halogen to LED.
    • Installing a new roof on Bus Hall (due to buckling and water leaks).
    • Repaving/redoing the Event Center parking lot.
  • Skillathon Volunteer Incentives: Discussion regarding fair passes for volunteers. Traditionally, passes were provided for Skillathon help. The board is waiting for confirmation from Jared on whether this will continue, especially given that Skillathon structure has changed this year.

4-H Educator and Program Assistant Reports: Camp and Training

  • Camp Participation: Camp numbers were broken down by Ashland vs. Lane. The speaker noted that Lane consistently has more participants than Ashland. For the previous year, the total for campers and counselors was approximately 210210. Initial impressions for this year suggested numbers might be low.
  • Counselor Training: Junior camp counselors require a bare minimum of 24 hours24\,hours of training as mandated by the state. Online makeup options are offered for youth with excused absences due to sports or other time conflicts.
  • Cloverbud Camp: The camp had 5858 registered campers, with 5555 attending (one no-show, one who left due to fear). The theme was ’Critter Camp’ (a play on Zootopia), featuring biomes like tundra, rainforest, and savannah.
    • Location Constraints: The camp moved to the Seacrest Welcome Center because Fisher Auditorium was booked by another group. Educational staff noted pros and cons: Seacrest is more spread out but lacks a full kitchen. Efforts are being made to reserve Fisher for next year, though school calendar shifts (like Tri Way’s schedule) influence the dates.

Scholarship Funding and the Endowment Fund Debate

  • Current Crisis: 1818 families requested camp scholarships this year, which is significantly higher than the usual amount (historically half a dozen or fewer).
  • Funding Sources: Traditionally, the Legacy Dinner group covered scholarships, but current funds were pulled from the Endowment Fund. Concerns were raised that the fund cannot be the sole source without replenishment.
  • Scholarship Logistics: The cost of camp is cited as approximately $245\$245 (though the transcript also mentions the figure $2.45\$2.45). For 1818 kids at approximately $245\$245, the total expense is roughly $4,400\$4,400.
  • Discussion on Limits:
    • There is a proposal to limit scholarships to a specific budget (e.g., $3,000\$3,000) or a set number of kids (88 or 1010).
    • Suggestions were made to offer partial scholarships (e.g., $100\$100 or $150\$150 per child) rather than full coverage to allow more kids to benefit.
    • A records request was made for a spreadsheet of interest gains and scholarship payouts over the last 10 years10\,years to establish an average.
  • Endowment Structure: The Endowment Fund typically only allows the use of interest/gains. Some of this money may be tied to the Community Foundation, and the board will check if legal ramifications require all such funds to go through that entity.

Livestock Identification and Regulatory Updates

  • RFID Tag Mandate: All cattle are now mandated to have RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. While the state mandate for all dairy cattle is set for 20272027, Wayne County decided to implement it for the junior fair in 20262026.
  • Dairy Tag Controversy:
    • While the office provides tags for feeder calves and beef, the Senior Fair Board voted that the office cannot provide tags for dairy animals because they are not terminal (they go home).
    • RFID tags for dairy must come from a veterinarian or the breeder to maintain the Premise ID link (traceability of origin).
    • There was a communication breakdown: some advisors were told the extension office would provide tags, and the office then had to retract that offer.
  • Deadline Extension: Entries for cattle were due June 1, but animals missing tags have been granted a grace period until July 1 to have the tag in the ear and a photo submitted.
  • Procedural Rationale: If a disease outbreak occurs, the RFID tags allow the ODA to contact the office, which serves as the record-keeper to identify the specific farm/address. This contradicts fears that ODA would ’eradicate’ all dairy on the fairgrounds during an outbreak.
  • Check-in Logistics: Discussion occurred about whether to walk every dairy animal to a central hub or have officials walk through the barns with portable wands to scan animals. Scanning in stalls is cited as more efficient, particularly for exhibitors with many animals (some up to 1212), to avoid long wait times and issues with milking schedules.

Skillathon Logistics and Volunteer Recruitment

  • Volunteer Requirements: To run the Skillathon over three nights, a large number of volunteers is needed:
    • Beef/Dairy/Sheep/Goats: Require 1010 volunteers each per night (total of 4040).
    • Swine: Requires approximately 3030 volunteers per night due to having six lines.
    • Total: Approximately 7070 total volunteers needed per night across all species.
  • Skillathon Preparation: Resources for Skillathon (meat cuts, disease management, etc.) are available on the fair website under the 4-H project guidelines. Participants are advised to study from their specific resource books.

Species Committee Reports

  • Beef: No meeting held since the last report.
  • Dairy: A clinic is upcoming featuring a showmanship judge.
  • Goats: A clinic was held with 3535 participants. Donations including soap and blankets were distributed to attendees.
  • Dogs:
    • Costume Contest: The second annual costume contest for kids and dogs is open for photo submissions until July 2929. The theme is circus, following last year’s Wizard of Oz/Wicked theme.
    • Show Logistics: The dog show is not during fair week this year, which some parents were unhappy about. However, the youth counselors requested the move to avoid Fairground distractions for the dogs.
    • Publicity: Suggestions were made to use yard signs and Canva designs to advertise the Dog Show on Sunday, August 1616 at 9 AM9\,AM.

Junior Fair Board Counselor Feedback and Concerns

  • Counselor Morale: High-ranking youth leaders expressed significant frustration with the Cloverbud Camp planning process, describing it as ’miserable’ and a ’crap show.’
  • Planning Issues:
    • Lack of continuity: Groups would plan something at one meeting only to have to ’re-plan’ it at the next.
    • Attendance: Meeting attendance varied (ranging from 66 to 1212 counselors), which stalled progress.
    • Supply Chain: Counselors reported thinking of great ideas but not having requested supplies provided, leading to wasted effort.
    • On-site Organization: On the first day of camp, roles and groups were not assigned beforehand, causing confusion while the kids were already present.
    • Tardiness: The counselor responsible for digital items arrived at 8:45 AM8:45\,AM on the first day, despite an 8:00 AM8:00\,AM call time.
  • Proposed Solutions: Use large ’sticky notes’ (Post-it wall sheets) to record decisions and carry them over to subsequent meetings. If a counselor is absent, the decisions made stand.

Questions & Discussion

  • Q: Why was the scholarship number so high this year (18)?
    • A: It may be an influx of children in the same age group within the same families; the cost of camp (245245) is heavy for multi-child households.
  • Q: Can we use wands for check-in like they do at the State Fair?
    • A: It is in the process of being determined. Walking through the barn is suggested for efficiency, but details are not finalized.
  • Q: Is there an Amazon wish list for the community service project?
    • A: Mary Martin from Caring Closet will be consulted regarding a wish list for supply items needed by clubs.

Future Meeting Dates

  • Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 1818 at 6:00 PM6:00\,PM. (Note: This is an earlier start time than the standard 7:30 PM7:30\,PM meetings to avoid conflicts with livestock sales).
  • Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made and seconded after the discussion concluded.