Kentucky Fairs Wrap Up

Money--or the lack of it--was again the center of attention at the 63rd Annual meeting of the Kentucky Association of Fairs and Horse Shows.

Like most states, Kentucky is facing budget shortfalls and one of the solutions has been to cut aid to fairs. Half of the state’s funding has been cut in the past two years while a record shortfall is expected for 2010 and 2011, further jeopardizing traditional fair funds.

The association and the state's individual fairs agreed to return home after the convention and make a concentrated effort to reach legislators and stress the importance of their programs in hopes of retaining or restoring funding for future years.

Attendance for the convention, held January 14-17 at Louisville's Galt House Hotel, was down slightly from 2009, but several aspects remained strong. The trade show and beauty pageant both saw increases while seminars and committee meetings seemed to draw larger attendance.

Max Willis, CFO of IAFE, addressed the annual business meeting on January 16, stressing the importance of belonging to the federation. He also complimented the association for recruiting eleven new IAFE members and receiving recognition during the Las Vegas convention.

The scholarship auction fell only $2009 below the record set the previous year. The group will use $9,000 of the proceeds for their scholarship program and slightly more than $2,000 to assist the Sale of Champions at the Kentucky State Fair.

Dudley Hay of Clinton county Fair succeeded Bill Asbury at president of the association. Asbury expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to serve in the same capacity his father served in 1962 and 1966.

Patricia Parrish of the Murray-Calloway County Fair assume the president-elect office while Linda Crace, Garrard County Fair, was elevated to first vice president and Howard Moore of Green County Fair was selected as second vice president.

Judy Stephanski of the Franklin County Fair was elected as a director while Al Smith, Jimmy England and Ron Burcham were re-elected to three-year terms as directors.

Various members were appointed to various standing committees, many of which will gather during the association's spring board meeting, scheduled for May 14 and 15 at Dale Hollow State Park. The board will also meet during the Kentucky State Fair on August 18 and again October 22 and 23 as a part of the Miss Teen Kentucky Fair and Miss Pre-Teen Kentucky Fair pageants.