It has been a great week. At the George H Henderson Expo Center in Lufkin, youth and volunteers have just about wrapped up another wonderful Angelina County Fair. You will read in other parts of the news about the placings, the livestock, agricultural mechanics, foods, crafts, and other activities that took place. I hope you know about our “Reach for The Stars Show” for kids with special needs. We’ve added shooting sports a couple of years ago, and this year for the first time, a “trailer build-off” competition. Undoubtedly there is the generous support of the buyers at the auction in addition to Round Tabel that awarded $52,500 to 35 graduating Seniors 35 deserving graduating Seniors this year in Angelina County.
And as the auction gets underway late this afternoon, and the ribbons, buckles, and banners will be on display. I would be remiss not to say a special thank you to all the volunteers who make each year’s show a success.
Volunteers are truly the heroes behind the scenes who make our Angelina County Fair successful.
The first contests of the Fair started on Monday. Those were public speaking, shotgun, and archery. The public speaking event was led by Jennifer Reynolds and Bo David Williford. Shooting sports competitions such as shotgun and archery were led by volunteers Heather McCall, Christi Grandgeorge, and Ryan Merrel.
The Home Economics Division is such a large effort that Janna Brazil and Joel Redus are needed to lead this event. Additionally, there were over 35 others that stepped forward for all the organization and judging. Yes, the judges do get to partake in some of the best cakes, pies, cheesecakes, breads, and cookies around, but they also must test and quiz the students about the ingredients, preparation, and nutritional value.
The Floral Design competition is in its second year and is led by Ashlyn Childress, an Agricultural Science Instructor from Hudson FFA. Carrie Shockley is the Arts and Crafts superintendent and oversees the numerous volunteers and judges that help check in and evaluate the projects.
Superintendents for the livestock show divisions include Melanie Murray, Westin Reynolds, Delbert Reynolds, Dillon Mason, Stephen Shockley, Mike Whiteman, Anna Lamb, Heith Garcia, and Summer Garcia. Each of these men and women also have several folks who help with validation, check-in, opening gates, and several other tasks for each show.
There are “open events” where you don’t have to be a 4-H or FFA member in Angelina County to participate. These include the BBQ cook-off, the washer tournament, and the ‘Reach for the Stars’ special needs show. For those competitions, the respective superintendents are, Charlie Gumbles, Melissa Wheeler, and Karen Stafford.
The Ag-Mech division is led by Kevin Martin and the newest event this year was the Trailer Build-Off which was headed up by Matthew Edwards.
Anita Carraway oversees the Youth Ambassador program. If you watched any part of the Fair, you saw youth in blue vests helping. This youth volunteer program strives to provide high school aged youth fair participants the opportunity to develop and practice advanced leadership skills and become an advocate for their county fair division. Applications are due in mid-September and those selected are responsible for workshops leading up the Fair, helping during their assigned division, as well as generally helping whenever they may be needed.
The Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce has numerous volunteers that give of their time for the Fair. The County Fair Board consists of Bo David Williford, Barbara Morton, Pat Penn, Charlie Grumbles, Ashlyn Cole, Anita Carraway, Preston Loggins, Steve Milligan, Codie Jenkins, Justin Risner, Scott Slusher, Melissa Wheeler, Stephen Corley, Chad Murray, and Chris Carraway. The Board chairman is Todd Kassaw.
Kody Jenkins is the Executive Director for our Fair and does a phenomenal job year-round to ensure a successful event for exhibitors and families alike.
Finally, donors to the auction help reward the youth on Saturday evening. Brookshire Brothers is our presenting sponsor for the Fair. There are numerous, fantastic businesses and families that support the auction, and I also want to personally thank those of you who donated any amount to one of the buyer pools.
If you want to join the auction virtually, donate to the auction, or check out pictures of this year’s winners, go to www.angelinacountyfair.com.
