By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Why can’t alcohol be sold during the fair? That was a question the board of directors for the Darke County Agricultural Society tried to answer on Wednesday during their regular monthly meeting.

The only vendor with a spot under the Grandstand that serves both the Midway and the Grandstand offered to serve alcohol during events at the Grandstand with funds going to Grandstand improvements.

The Society’s Vice President Jim Zumbrink answered the request by pointing to the Society’s constitution that prohibits alcohol from being served on the fairground during the fair. He believes the rule dates back to the 1800s or early 1900s. There is a plaque on the side of the Veteran’s Building on the fairgrounds that expresses the building’s donors’ wishes that alcohol is not served on the fairgrounds. That was part of the condition for the donation.

Changing the constitution could be very challenging. In order to change this particular rule and amend the constitution, they would need two-thirds of the membership to agree to the change. Zumbrink and other board members pointed out this doesn’t mean two-thirds of voters need to approve the change, but two-thirds of the membership would need to approve the change. Most years, two-thirds of the membership doesn’t vote.

Chance Cox, the board’s attorney, agreed with Zumbrink’s assessment of the constitution and what it would take to change the rule. “There’s a difference in being able to do it and actually passing it,” he said.

Director Craig Bowman suggested the board look into the issue further and to at least try to change the rule. Bowman said, “If you have a membership of 1,000 people and only 500 people vote, it fails.”

The board does allow certain organizations to serve alcohol on the fairgrounds, but not during the fair.

The board also addressed an issue with departments or events that sell sponsorship banners that are displayed at the fair. Some of the board members took exception to a bill the board received to pay for banners that were hung in the Swine Barn that were sold by the Swine Committee. There was some uncertainty as to whether the Swine Committee reimbursed the Society for the banners. Laura Ahrens, fair manager, said she would look at past receipts.

However, most directors said they didn’t know the group was selling sponsorships. While other organizations have come before the board to ask for permission to sell sponsorship banners, the Swine Committee did not. Director Brian Rismiller put a motion on the floor with a second from Dean Neff to require the sale of all sponsorship banners that are hung during the fair to come before the board for approval. The motion passed with an 8-2 vote. Those opposed to the motion were Dave Singer and Greg Pearson. This would apply to all events on the fairgrounds during the fair, including events in front of the Grandstand.

Rismiller also addressed an issue with livestock exhibitors in the junior fair not going through the auction with their animals or as an individual. It was pointed out that approximately 50 swine exhibitors and 70 livestock exhibitors opted out of being present during the auction. Because of the heat this year, some animals had already been taken off the fairgrounds, but the exhibitor chose not to go through the auction process and just had a paper read for their project. Rismiller made a motion that a rule be put in the green section of the book that all junior fair market show exhibitors go through the auction. Dave Singer seconded the motion. Zumbrink questioned whether the issue should go through the junior fair board first. Rismiller affirmed that it did, and it came back to the senior fair board for its recommendation. The motion passed.

The Darke County Harness Horseman’s Association continues to raise funds for the rehabilitation of stalls in the harness horse barns. To date, the association has collected over $17,500 in sponsorships from the over $30,000 pledged. They are expecting to receive another $15,000 in the next week or two. The association and Society will also be leveraging some of the funds to apply for a matching grant offered by the Ohio Harness Horse Association.

Tim Reck asked the board to put in the $10,000 they pledged for next year so they can begin purchasing all the materials needed to refurbish all stalls in disrepair. The total cost for the rest of the materials is a little over $49,000. The local harness horseman’s group will add the $2,500 they have pledged for next year also. Combined with the funds provided by the Society this year that has not been spent, Reck believes they will have enough funds to purchase all of the materials.

There is still a question as to who will do the labor. They’ve checked into one business and the cost was deemed too high. They will check with another business or may start getting volunteers to do the work themselves.

The Society’s directors also heard complaints regarding the fair. The biggest was the lack of WIFI and cell phone service for vendors.

Attendance was down for the 2023 fair. According to Zumbrink, gate admission was $452,885 for the week. This was $33,664 less than the year before when gate admission was $486,549. However, attendance is still up from 2021 when they received $428,024.

The next regular meeting of the Darke County Agricultural Society’s Board of Directors will be Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m., Secretary’s Office, Darke County Fairgrounds.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].