By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The number of entries at the 2024 Wood County Fair reached pre-pandemic levels for the first time since 2020 when the fair was canceled because of COVID.
At the December meeting, the Wood County Fair Board discussed the increase as a plus for growing the fair; however, with more than 10,000 entries recorded for the 2024 fair, FairEntry, the company that provides the county fair’s management software program increased the cost to use the software for the 2025 county fair.
The cost is based on how many entries are recorded. The price increased from $2,500 to $5,000 when the entries surpassed 10,000.
Concerned about the fair’s expenses, several board members suggested there could be ways to reduce the entries back to below 10,000. Enforcing the maximum number of entries per person was mentioned or not using the program for peewee shows or Catch a Pig.
Though the fair is keeping a close eye on revenue and expenses, the board agreed the additional $2,500 for the software program seemed reasonable.
“It’s kind of hard to limit our entries if we want to grow our fair,” said Fair Director Conni Grames. “Anytime we can grow the number of entries, it’s a good investment.”
“We don’t want to limit the fair (entries),” said President Paul Perry. “$2,500 in the grand scheme of things isn’t bad. I think FairEntry is a wise investment.”
Fair Director Brock Abke updated the board about the state grant received and how those monies have been spent.
“We requested $310,627.10 and received $106,831.54,” he said. To date, $73,471.10 was spent to fix the grandstand roof and $7,853.50 was spent for technology upgrades, leaving a balance of $25,506.94.
The board approved spending the balance on a new gator and a zero-turn mower.
Additional projects planned for the grounds this year include a joint project with the Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association to improve the winner’s circle in front of the grandstand and add manure pads in three locations on the fairgrounds.
Ticket sales for the board’s Guns and Purses Raffle on Jan. 25 are going well. Hoping to sell 350 tickets for the event, Second Vice President Tony Violi reported 165 tickets have already been sold.
Steve Powell has agreed to be the announcer for the event and the $50 ticket price will include three drink tickets and a chance at five guns and nine purses.
Wood County Fair Foundation annual report
Steve Speck, president of the Wood County Fair Foundation, reported the Pratt Pavilion hosted 26 bookings in 2024, including 17 larger public events, and nine private meetings. The public events included gun shows, a Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce spotlight, a gem show, Shipshewana, and a Toledo Home Builders Association.
Already for 2025, there are 25 events currently booked—20 in the main exhibition area and five in the meeting rooms—compared to 16 at the same time last year. “We’ve really been able to expand on the major bookings in the exhibition area on multi-year contracts,” he said, including Shipshewana, the gun show and the gem show.
Because the gem show contract was expiring this year, they negotiated another extension for a longer period, he said.
The gun show signed a five-year contract, increasing the number of shows from five to six each year. They also bought 300 tables and 300 chairs exclusively for the gun show; however, for events in the Pratt Pavilion, the tables and chairs can be rented to organizations with the rental fee split 50/50 between the fair foundation and the gun show, Speck said.
The loan balance for the building, which cost $2.2 million in 2017-18 is $1,112,460. State Bank has the majority of the loan at $799,392, and the Wood. County Commissioners have the remainder at $313,068.
Annual payments on the loans are 136,463: $117,372 due to State Bank on March 15, and $19,091 due to the county commissioners on Jan. 31. The State Bank loan’s fixed interest rate at 2.98% matures in 2032. The commissioner’s loan, negotiated to 1%, matures in 2043.
“The real heavy lifting is to see clear to 2032 on revenues and finances,” he said.
Revenues in 2024 included $91,000 for rentals, and $14,500 for other income, mostly for concessions the foundation provided for the gun show, gem show, Shipshewana and the toy show, which is hosted by the foundation.
The foundation has a total cash revenue of $385,745, with the majority in an interest-bearing account at 4%.
“The reason we are not paying down the debt with the cash balance is because we are getting 4%, and our interest rates are much less than that, so it’s paying us to leave it sit tight,” Speck explained. “More importantly, none of us can predict the future or what the economy is going to be.”
He reminded the board about the year of the pandemic, “when the wheels fell off the cart.” There were no bookings, no fair and no revenue.
“To manage this properly, this money, even with a minimal amount of income, will allow us to have three years of debt coverage, which keeps us from a default situation and keeps us in good shape for at least three years,” Speck said.
Two seats on the foundation board are to be filled specifically by Fair Board members. Three fair board members, Speck, Jessica Nagel and John Nissen were nominated for the two positions. Nissen and Nagel were elected to represent the fair board on the foundation.
In other business, the fair board:
- Learned the Livestock Sale Committee, comprised of department heads for the junior fair livestock departments, doesn’t plan to make any major changes in the junior fair livestock sale for 2025. They will use FairEntry computer program to help manage the process.
- Heard the number of junior fair beef projects is up from last year based on the Dec. 7 Beef Weigh-In. Fair Director Dave Nietz said 84 beef animals were weighed in, which is 16 more than last year. There were 22 Holsteins, 12 market heifers and 50 colored steers.
- Congratulated Fair Director Deanne Corken for the successful grant application from the Bowling Green Community Foundation to help bring the Farm-to-Market exhibit to the 2025 fair. She reported that more than $13,000 has been raised thus far.
- Announced a meeting will be held in January to discuss changing the Champion Barn to the Rabbit Barn, making the current Poultry and Rabbit Barn exclusively for Poultry, and moving the junior fair champion market animals to their home barns.
- Tabled a motion to purchase a banner printer to print banners and signage in-house.
- Heard Kathy Thomas resigned as board secretary effective Jan. 1.
