Holmes County Fair highlighted by devotion of young leaders

Every year there is much ado made about the way the adult community comes together to make the Holmes County Fair a monumental success.

From the fair board’s willingness to work as a team to the business community that drives sale prices sky high for the youth during the livestock sale and everything in between, the community makes the fair a success.

However, over the years the Holmes County Fair has remained totally committed to maintaining a fair designed specifically as a junior fair devoted to highlighting the youth.

That is something that has largely gone to the wayside across the state, but that commitment has put a spotlight on a group of young people who have captured the essence of what has driven Holmes County these many years — that being a dedication to hard work and doing things the right way.

Those qualities have been captured by many of these Holmes County 4-H youth who are driven to succeed; passionate about raising, working with and presenting high-quality livestock animals; and developing top-notch Life Skills projects.

That desire to follow in the path set by generations before them has not gone unnoticed by the adults in the county.

Now in her 10th year on the Holmes County Fair Board, Tara Sheldon has had the joy of watching the 4-H youth do some pretty special things on a regular basis.

She said Holmes County’s kids are as dedicated and hardworking as they come.

“I’ve seen these kids start and finish their respective years presenting their projects to our community, and it’s been inspiring,” Sheldon said. “The amount of work and dedication that they put into their projects is absolutely amazing. The fundamental skills they learn on this journey are life lessons for them and will be passed from generation to generation.

“This is what I believe Holmes County is truly about, from the support of the fairgoers to the unbelievable support of our market exhibit buyers. Finishing a market animal right now is not cheap for these kids, and we all see it each and every day at our local stores. Our number of market projects have not dropped over the years, and that is truly on the support of our community.”

Kerry Taylor, longtime senior fair board president and current board member, said the willingness for area youth to dive into their work wholeheartedly is due in part to a generational mindset.

“A lot of our kids’ willingness to work hard lends itself to the uniqueness of the county,” Taylor said. “We have a solid Christian-based community, and being rural lends itself to the work ethic we see in our kids.”

He also said the business community helps set the tone for 4-H youth to strive to work harder and do the best they can, noting the commitment from the business community to support the 4-Hers during the livestock sale lays the foundation because 4-H kids understand if they do the work and commit to the project in full, the business community will support them.

He said the community also has set the stage for young adults to step into prominent fair and 4-H roles when they reach adulthood.

“It makes you feel good to see how kids who have gone through the 4-H program and FFA are now participating in the fair,” Taylor said, noting currently eight of the 22 senior fair board members were heavily involved in Holmes County 4-H.

It all adds up to young adults having a desire to give back to their community and to the fair that supports them in so many ways.

“In the end it’s about developing the community as a whole, and our young people have shown a real willingness to step up and get involved after their 4-H days because of the examples being set by our entire community,” Taylor said.

Roger Boring, Holmes County Fair Board president, has been around these young people for years — including his own kids — and he said there isn’t a more dedicated group of young people committed to doing things the right way.

“Agriculture itself is critical to our area, and these kids are the heart of it,” Boring said. “These kids come up through 4-H and FFA and age out and move on to some really big things because they know how to work hard and do things the right way. It helps prepare them for bigger and better things, and if they weren’t involved in 4-H and FFA, they may not have that chance to develop as much.”

He said it has been a joy to see so many young people blossom through 4-H, FFA and the fair, and many of those young people have returned to Holmes County to become leaders in their respective communities.

“What our programs are doing right now in 4-H and FFA continues to churn out leaders of tomorrow,” Boring said. “It’s a huge part of our county’s growth and success.”