Fair board members elected at society's annual meeting

Board members whose terms expired and were seeking re-election were Tony Schroeder, Terry Reuter, Brett McNaughton, Wayne Beitelspacher and Rich Benson.

All five were re-elected to a two-year term.

Four board members whose terms expired and chose not to seek another term were Don Konopasek, Dave Hoffman, Dave Lehner and Jim Klein.

A special thank you was given to the four men for their many years of dedication and service on the fair board.

Elected to two-year terms to fill those seats were Russell Vos, Michael Beitelspacher, Darla Zellmer and Dan Sheehan.

Suggestions for entertainment for the 2010 fair is being sought by the board before it attends the Association of Iowa Fairs convention in December.

The board continues to seek action-type shows for the grandstand arena, while music and other entertainment acts seem to work well on the Pioneer Village stage.

Dave Hoffman encouraged board members to control spending as they had a number of larger expenditures during the past year.

Board members agreed they needed to find the best value for their entertainment dollar.

Also approved was a change in the Plymouth County 4-H and Agricultural Society by-laws.

The current by-laws read the Plymouth County Extension Director is a board member. Due to changes in the structure of the Iowa State University Extension staff at the local level, that position has been eliminated. In its place is the Extension Coordinator, a position held by Carol Schneider.

The by-law will be changed to include the position Extension Coordinator as a board member instead of the former title.

A regular fair board meeting was held following the adjournment of the annual meeting.

Three officers were re-elected to their positions. They are Terry Reuter, president; Tony Schroeder, vice president, and Gail Schoenrock, secretary.

Tom Galles was elected to fill the treasurer's seat vacated by Don Konopasek.

Dave Hoffman, president of the Association of Iowa Fairs encouraged board members to attend the annual convention in December.

"We will have our state fair queen, Caine Westergard, attending the event, too," he added.

"The Plymouth County Fair excells in volunteerism," said Hoffman, adding that is a fact he shares at Association of Iowa Fairs meetings.

He cites the number of local service clubs which run food stands at the fair, helping both the club and the fair.

"We have good prices on food and we don't have commercial food vendors," he said.

Brad Harvey, who is in charge of Pioneer Village entertainment, said The Browns will return for an evening of entertaining in the village, and he plans to have a hypnotist again for 2010.

Membership in the Plymouth County 4-H and Agricultural Society is open to any county resident who pays a $5 one-time membership.

New members are encouraged.