Holmes County rejoices in $1 million mark at fair sale

Welcome to the $1 million buyer’s club Holmes County.

When the final bid was made and the last animal was sold at the 2023 Holmes County Junior Fair Sale on Friday, Aug. 11, it marked a stunning achievement for a fair that certainly is far from the largest in the state of Ohio.

The total amount brought in from the sale ended up being right around $1,008,000, marking the first time the Holmes County Fair Sale has burst through that number.

Kerry Taylor, fair board president, said while there are certainly other county fairs that have achieved that number, they are showing many more animals and are much larger fairs.

Per capita and per 4-Her showing animals, Holmes County ranks as the gold star market.

“What we see here in Holmes County per animal is remarkable,” Taylor said. “Our community has always taken care of these 4-H kids, and they turn out to support them and make sure they are rewarded for their effort.”

Taylor said last year’s total of $976,321 approached that million-dollar mark, but nothing prepared the fair board or the sale committee for the rise into seven figures.

He said in addition to the sale, the annual Life Skills projects only add to the accomplishments of the 4-Hers in the county.

He also said the involvement of area businesses in the sale, like Commercial & Savings Bank, Rea & Associates and many area auctioneers, help make it smooth sailing during the sale, and their contributions shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Those people are all volunteering their time, and we can’t express our gratitude to them enough,” Taylor said.

Holmes County Junior Fair Sale Committee chair Matt Feikert said while the number was within reach, none of the committee thought about the moment until it had arrived. He said the sale figures are entered into a cloud-based system that allows them to track the process, and when the sheep were rolled out in the final sale, the number was close.

“I think everybody was in shock when it happened,” Feikert said. “It’s a pretty amazing feat for a sale in a county the size of ours, and it’s a tribute to the incredible support from this community. I guess we’ve seen that in so many ways that we shouldn’t be that surprised.”

He said reaching that level in sales should be an exciting moment for both the 4-H kids and the community because it represents the commitment both groups show in making sure the Holmes County Junior Fair Sale is among the top in the state.

“We have a great sale for a county our size, and I don’t know that we do anything special other than the idea of supporting our kids and our kids doing the hard work to show everyone that they’ve invested in their animals,” Feikert said. “I think this community understands the level of work and effort and time our kids put into their animals. It takes a great deal of effort and time to do all of the summer activities with an animal leading up to the fair, and our community takes pride in rewarding kids for their effort.”

Feikert went on to talk about the many businesspeople who come to the sale and make sure the youth are properly rewarded. He said people like Kathy Schlabach of Denco Marketing and Gloria Yoder of Mrs. Yoder’s are among the many business owners who propel the sale numbers to record heights.

“People like that will sit there throughout the two days of the sale and bid on a lot of animals,” Feikert said.

Feikert said in addition to the community support, reasons for the growth past $1 million include the kids doing their homework and being diligent with sending out invitations to area businesses.

In addition, he said while the big animal numbers sold at this year’s fair remained consistent with those in the past, there was an uptick in the number of small animals, like rabbits and chickens, being shown.

He also said the community has a certain amount of pride in building up the numbers, and other fair committees have recognized the sale numbers being generated by Holmes County.

“It’s a pretty amazing number and a pretty amazing accomplishment for our county,” Feikert said. “If it never comes again, we can always say we reached a remarkable goal.”

However, if history is any indication, there’s no reason to think that number won’t come again in the very near future.