Wayne County fair volunteers honored

WOOSTER, Ohio – This year, Pete Armstrong celebrated his 20th year as secretary/treasurer of the Wayne County Agricultural Society with a couple hundred of his closest friends as part of the annual Wayne County Fair Appreciation Night.
The event is hosted by the board of directors of the Wayne County Agricultural Society to recognize the fair’s many volunteers.
Get ready. A special highlight for the fair this year will be the World’s Lightweight Horse Pull Sept. 9. Wayne County will host the heavyweight horse pull next year, alternating the events with the Geauga County Fair.
Outstanding service. A highlight of the appreciation night is the recognition of volunteers for outstanding service to the fair.
This year, Francis Meyer, Miles Priest, Randy Berry, Becky Weinman and Kim Heim were recognized.
Meyer has been involved the harness racing program at the Wayne County Fair since the late 1950s. He has been track superintendent since the 1960s and has put countless hours into making improvements around the race track, to ensure that the track was in the best possible condition for the races.
Priest has coordinated the first aid station at the Wayne County Fair for over 30 years. He has provided instruction for volunteers, organized the transportation and set up of equipment and supplies, scheduled volunteers and treated hundreds of sick and injured fair visitors.
Becky Weinman started working in with the home economics department in 1969, cleaning and setting tables. For the past 10 years, she has been co-superintendent and is responsible for organizing work days, cleaning and set up, lining up the judges for food, clothing and sewing projects.
Randy Berry has shown hogs and sheep in both junior and open shows and has served on the swine committee for 15 plus years, during which time he has moved an estimated 22,500 hogs during the fair.
He has also volunteered as a skill-a-thon facilitator and worked with the horticulture department and has participated in the local tractor pull.
Kim Heim was a junior fair queen and helped organize the 40th and 50th King/Queen reunions in 1995 and 2005.
She is a 4-H adviser, member of the sheep and home economics action committees, 4-H Extension Advisory Committee and has helped with the food and fashion board.