By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent HICKSVILLE, Ohio — Defiance County fair officials will dedicate the fairgrounds’ new grandstand Aug. 20, the first day of the county fair, which runs through Aug. 27. The first phase of the grandstand project – the metal structure and press box – was completed last fall, said Tom Breininger, president of the Defiance County Fair Foundation.
The grandstand was also made handicapped accessible. Still to be added are restrooms and decorative features, he stated. The new structure replaces the old wooden grandstand that was about 135 years old. “The old grandstand stood the community well, but it had a lot of deterioration and rotting,” Breininger said. “The grandstand is critical to many events scheduled at the fairgrounds, including horse racing, truck and tractor pulls and entertainers.”
About $800,000 has been raised for the 1,900-seat grandstand, he said, noting the cost for what has been completed so far totals about $950,000. “It’s the most amazing thing to realize how much we’ve raised in this economy,” he explained. “To do that in these difficult times says something for our community.
“The grandstand really enhances our community and county. We have 700 kids in the county in 4-H. We’re a rural community and the fair is still important to a lot of people in the area.”
At least 500 individuals, businesses and organizations have donated to the project, he said. One of those donations came from Farm Credit Services (FCS) of Mid-America, which gave $10,000 to the project. Nick Sheets, a financial services officer with FCS, is a Defiance County native and a member of the steering committee for the project. “I knew what the need was. I’m from the country and grew up going to the fair. About 20 to 25 years ago, we had a pretty good fair and pretty good attendance, but that started to decline about 10-12 years ago,” he said.
“How do you have a good fair to draw people to watch? You have a good grandstand. It’s important to events throughout the year and can help draw more events, such as trade shows and dirt bike races,” Sheets said. “This is something I’m proud to be involved in. There’s a sense of pride. And FCS tries to benefit the local community. It’s a way to show we’re going to help you, as a result of you helping us.”
FCS also recently donated $25,000 to a 4-H camp in northwestern Ohio for construction of another bunkhouse, Sheets noted. FCS, which serves more than 85,500 farmers, agribusinesses and rural residents in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, has contributed more than $103,000 to fairground projects in the four-state area in the last three years.
In 2010, the cooperative donated a total of $55,000 to fairgrounds in three counties – Casey County in Kentucky and Robertson and Cheatham counties in Tennessee – to help repair damage caused by last year’s floods. FCS also donated $25,000 to a flood disaster fund in Tennessee. Breininger encourages people who would like to donate to the Defiance County grandstand project to contact him at 419-658-2529 or email jbreininger@hotmail.com |
