Join us for the 2013 GCFFY Golf Outing

Join us on Thursday, June 20 at the Fields Golf Course for the 2013 Firecracker Open to support the Gratiot County Fair for Youth.  Registration and lunch begins at 11:00 a.m., golfing starts at noon, with dinner to start at 5:00 p.m.  All this is available for just $240 per team (or $60 per individual golfer).  Sign up on the registration form downloaded by clicking here.

Following dinner is the fair’s annual road sign auction to benefit the fair.  This is your chance to get your name on one of the green road signs seen throughout the fairgrounds.  RSVP for dinner and the auction by June 6 at 989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.

Summer Intern Job Opportunity

The Gratiot County Fair for Youth and MSU Extension are seeking a motivated individual to serve as the Summer Fair Extension Intern.  The selected candidate will provide positive frontline support for GCFFY and Gratiot County MSU Extension, accurately organize and manage fair exhibitor enrollments by utilizing existing database software, and effectively communicate with donors, sponsors, volunteers and exhibitors programs and services offered through MSU Extension and the GCFFY.  The position will run from late May to the middle of August. 

Interested candidates should email a resume and cover letter to bgardner@gcffy.org by May 10.  Click here for a detailed job description. For more information contact Brian Gardner at (989) 875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.

Sponorships Still Available

The Gratiot County Fair for Youth has received just over $37,000 in donations from 119 unique donors from our annual fundraising campaign.  Funds received from this campaign help the fair balance its funding equation by helping to cover award expenses, maintain and improve its buildings and facilities and to fund program costs.

Sponsorships are still available.  Click here for a current list of trophy sponsors at the fair.  If you would like to see your name on a trophy, click on our Sponsorship Information page for donation levels and a pledge form or contact the fair office at bgardner@gcffy.org or (989) 875-5292. 

Poultry Broiler Chicken and Duck Project

Fair exhibitors who are interested in participating in the Market Chicken or Market Duck with “Project” birds must have their project birds ordered by Friday, May 3.  Those exhibitors who do not wish to enter the Poultry Project may purchase their birds through any source.  There is, however, a special award for exhibitors who use project birds and have the greatest rate of gain.  Pricing on the birds is set on the number purchased but will NOT exceed $2.35 per chicken and $4.10 per duck.    Birds will arrive on June 3 or 4 and you will be contacted and expected to pick them up at that time.  To sign up for project birds or for more information contact Clay Mills, Poultry Superintendent, at (989) 763-1973 or clmills@casair.net. 

Fair Seeks Dairy Superintendent

The Gratiot County Fair for Youth is seeking a qualified person to serve as our fair’s volunteer dairy superintendent.  Candidates should be organized, have basic knowledge of how a fair livestock show runs, and most importantly interact well with our youth exhibitors, volunteers and parents.  As a large animal superintendent the selected person will:

• Serve on the fair’s Large Livestock Committee as a voting member (a committee which usually meets twice per year)
• Work with the fair office to get ready for fair
• Set up and assign stalling
• Check-in dairy projects
• Introduce themselves to dairy exhibitors
• Set up the dairy show
• Prepare dairy exhibits for the showmanship sweepstakes
• Work with exhibitors and volunteers to clean-up barn after the fair

This position fills the vacancy left by Doreen Slavik who has served with distinction these past few years.   Applications are available on the fair’s website and are due by Monday, April 8.  A superintendent job description is also online. Contact the fair office with any questions at bgardner@gcffy.org or (989) 875-5292.

Local Volunteers Recognized by the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions

(Grand Rapids, Michigan) As part of the annual meeting of the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (MAFE), the organization recognizes volunteers who had provided exceptional service to fairs within the state of Michigan.  From all of the eighty-six fairs in Michigan, Jack Butcher, son of Joe and Jennifer Butcher of Alma was recognized as their Youth Volunteer of the Year and Becky Hirschman of Ithaca was honored as the Volunteer of the Year for the thirteen county zone Gratiot County falls under.

Butcher, a sophomore at Alma High School, was recognized for his dedication and hours spent volunteering at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth.  “After six inches of rain fell during fair week, we experienced considerable damage to our grounds,” states Brian Gardner, GCFFY Fair Coordinator.  “Shortly after fair, I looked out my window and saw Jack on a tractor and I don’t think he got off until he had repaired all the ruts and holes created in our lawn during fair week.”  Gardner continued that Butcher has been volunteering at the fair for years and more recently has taken an active role in helping maintain our fair facility.

Hirschman, Ithaca, was honored because of her leadership in renovating the fair’s horse facilities this past year.  “Becky is a positive force for the fair,” states Gardner.  “This past year she helped to turn a vision of an improved horse barn into a reality.”  Hirschman is the fair’s current board President and Superintendent of their horse department.  “Becky is helpful at every level of the fair,” Gardner continues.  “She is as apt to be cultivating prospective donors as she is to be cleaning our bathrooms.”

For more information contact the fair office at 989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.

Gratiot County Fair for Youth Purchases Property

Late in December the Gratiot County Fair for Youth signed official papers to purchase five city lots on the northwest corner of the fairgrounds.  The new land currently has a home and garage which the fair hopes can be moved.  The additional property will provide more space and accessible parking just west of the new Feeder Barn. 

The previous owner approached the fair last fall and offered the GCFFY the first opportunity to purchase the property.  The fair evaluated its options and the board authorized its executive committee to enter into a purchase agreement with the land owner.  As part of the purchase agreement the fair sought and was granted zoning from the city of Alma to be the same as our existing fairgrounds.

“Our fair is landlocked and any opportunity to secure additional land must be seriously considered,” states GCFFY Board President Becky Hirschman.  “The board had a meaningful discussion on the potential uses this additional property would allow the fair and decided to go forward with the purchase.”

If anyone would be interested in moving the existing home they may contact the fair office.  For more information contact the fair office at 989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.

Fair Schedule

Registering Your 2013 Market Livestock Project

Fair Elects New Board Members

The Gratiot County Fair for Youth membership elected its 2013 Board of Directors at its annual meeting held in early December.  Jake Cary, Mark Story and Argil Willman were reelected for their second term and Kent Humm was elected filling the seat vacated by Darcy Martyn.  Courtney Crumbaugh was appointed to a two year term on the board as a Teen Representative filling a vacancy created at the end of Sara Stack’s term completion.

Later that night the board elected Becky Hirschman as its President, Mark Story as its Vice President, Martha Stellow for Secretary and Kris Duflo as Treasurer.  The complete list of board members is listed at http://www.gcffy.org/about_us.html.  For more information contact the fair office at 989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.

Gratiot County Fair for Youth Campsite Procedures

This time of year, we want to remind all of our exhibitor families and future fair families about our fair campsite procedures.  Campers who camped during our last fair will be offered their sites first.  Letters will go out the end of November for these campers to pay for their sites and sign they understand and agree to our camping rules.  If campers want to move after everyone has responded, we do our best to accommodate requests.  The next step is to review our campsite waiting list.  Currently we have 26 families on this list.  The fair will contact families on this list in the order they were received until all of our empty sites have been filled.  To get on the waiting list or if you have any questions, contact the fair office at 989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org.  Please provide us your name, address, phone number (including cell phone) and email address.  Families will be added in the order they were received.

Fair Presents 454 Awards

(Alma, MI) 454 different awards were presented to youth exhibitors at the 2012 Gratiot County Fair for Youth. Awards included trophies, plaques, embroidered awards, belt buckles, and cash awards. "This was the first year in my five fairs that I remember us presenting this many awards and each of them were sponsored by our generous community," states Brian Gardner, Fair Coordinator. Gardner said it is exciting to see the recipient's faces as they receive these awards. The fair spent over $9,000 on ribbons and trophies for exhibitors.

Recognizing the accomplishments of youth exhibitors is an important part of the fair's mission.

A complete list of the awards and the recipients can be found by clicking here. Contact info@gcffy.org for more information.

Record Sale Under Extreme Weather

(Alma, MI)  While six inches of rain fell on the Gratiot County Fair for Youth’s grounds, 458 exhibits were sold for a record sale of $486,735.70.  The fair reported this is a 7.8% increase over 2011.  “It is amazing how the community always rises to the occasion,” states Becky Hirschman, president of the fair’s Board of Directors.  “People brought in tarps to help enclose the arena, a covered wagon to get people from the parking lots to the sale and several people helped buyers get their vehicles out.”

Wendy’s of Alma was the sale’s top buyer both in number of livestock purchased and total amount spent at the fair.  Carol Freed, owner of Wendy’s of Alma, also bumped up the floor of market feeder steers to a minimum of $2.00 per pound sold.  A complete list of buyers is available on the fair’s website.

Earlier in the week the fair sold 319 lots of food and handcrafted projects at the fair’s Still Exhibit Auction.  These exhibits sold for a 73,750.00 which was a 20% increase over 2012.

“I have come to expect the unexpected from the Gratiot County community,” states Brian Gardner, Fair Coordinator.  “The support the fair and its exhibitors receive from the community is overwhelming.”  Gardner mentioned the fair also received records donations and sponsorships this year.

For more sale statistics click here.

Community Comes Together to Support Dairy Sales

(Alma, Michigan) Several local businesses and families have come together to support dairy exhibitors at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth.  The total between the two sales was $8,450 with $4,250 for Avery Wood’s Grand Champion cow and $4,200 for Taylor Bolinger’s Reserve Champion Cow.

Each year the fair sells a representative Gallon of Milk from the Grand and Reserve Champion dairy exhibitors during the livestock sale.  The proceeds are split between the champion exhibitors and every other dairy exhibitor depending on the number of animals they exhibit in the dairy department.

This year buying the Grand Champion Gallon of Milk are Jeff Arnold Cattle Company ($50.00), Taylor & Morgan Bolinger ($50.00), Burford Plumbing & Heating ($150.00), Cargill Animal Nutrition ($100.00), John & Julie Culp Family ($50.00) DeSaegher Dairy ($250.00), Double Eagle Dairy ($500.00), Bob & Sharon Fitzpatrick ($300.00), GAPS - Dekalb/Asgrow - Rob Blackwell ($100.00), Harvey's Ag Solutions ($100.00), JBT Grain Co., LLC ($500.00), Scott & Charla Kilgo ($100.00), Duane LaLone Milk Hauling ($250.00), Maple Rapids Lumber ($100.00), Mibelloon Dairy ($1,000.00), Lloyd Miller & Sons ($50.00), Slavik Show Cattle ($100.00), Sterner Veterinary Clinic ($50.00) Sykora Auction Service ($25.00), Daryl & Tammy Trefoil ($200.00), Vanderploeg Holsteins ($125.00), and Wilson's Centennial Farm ($100.00).

The Reserve Champion Gallon of Milk Buyers are Alderman ($50.00), Bader & Sons ($500.00), Kevin & Kelly Bebow ($250.00),    Taylor & Morgan Bolinger ($50.00), Burford Plumbing & Heating ($150.00), John & Julie Culp Family ($50.00) Merv & Stephanie Dailey ($100.00), GAPS - Dekalb/Asgrow - Rob Blackwell ($50.00), GGS Genetics ($100.00), Harvey's Ag Solutions ($100.00), Hirschman Trucking ($200.00), Kalmbach Feeds of MI, ($200.00), Scott & Charla Kilgo ($100.00), Duane LaLone Milk Hauling ($250.00), McConnell Farm Supply, Inc. ($500.00), Lloyd Miller & Sons ($50.00), John & Lori Misenhelder ($50.00), Prenger's Inc. ($200.00).

2012 Fair Auction Information

After a great experience judging on Saturday, August 4, 312 exhibitors have registered to sell a fair project at the Still Exhibit Sale. Included are tasty pies, cakes, dinners, and many hand crafted items such as benches and photography. Click here to download a copy of the sale bill.

Alma, Michigan.  The Gratiot County Fair for Youth auctions allow exhibitors an opportunity to sell projects at the fair.  On Sunday, August 5, exhibitors will be selling Still Exhibits.  Still Exhibits are hand crafted items which are exhibited in the fair.  Expect lots of amazing food items, quilts, wood crafts, and creative projects.   The auction starts at 5:30 p.m. in the fair’s covered arena.

“The Still Exhibit Auction is an amazing opportunity for the youth of Gratiot County to show off their hard work to the community at large,” states Matthew Newman, 4-H Program Coordinator for Gratiot County.  Newman provides leadership to the fair’s still exhibit project barns.  Newman went on to add that “the Still Exhibit Auction provides an opportunity to Gratiot youth to participate in an auction even if they are unable to have an animal project to sell.”  Newman stresses the amount of learning which happens through mastering a still exhibit project.  “The great thing about 4-H is that there is something for everyone, and working through 4-H clubs, Gratiot youth can hone skills that will enable them not only to learn, but also create award winning projects.”

On Friday, August 10 exhibitors will have the opportunity to sell their market animal projects at the Livestock Sale.  Small animals start the sale at 10:00 a.m. followed by large animals at 1:00 p.m.  The fair has 386 large animals and 154 small animal projects registered to be sold this day.

“It amazes me to see the support from our community at the sales,” states Brian Gardner, GCFFY Fair Coordinator.  “Last year over $500,000 was brought in at our sale most of which was reinvested back into our community.”

Click here for more information about the GCFFY Sales including a list of exhibitors who are signed up to sell in our livestock auction.

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The Gratiot County Fair for Youth and the Gratiot County 4-H Programs both have active Facebook accounts.  These accounts are used to provide you with current information about their respective programs.  Everyone wants to be liked so please "like" them and make sure you are receiving current information.

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The Gratiot County Fair for Youth's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/gcffy and the Gratiot County 4-H page is https://www.facebook.com/GratiotCounty4H.