MONROE - The Green County Fair board will have three new directors, bringing with them what they say are new viewpoints, for 2012.
Debra Gorr, Leslie Brugger and Todd Forrester were elected to the Green County Fair Association board in November, each with a three-year term. All three new directors pointed to the continuation of the county fair as their main concern and the reason for accepting their nominations.
"I think we have a good board, and we had a good board in the past, but we have to change with the times," said Forrester, rural Brodhead.
Gorr, rural Monroe, elected to the secretary position, said a time had come for changes to the board and for some "other, different ideas" for maintaining the fair.
Gorr is focused on the agricultural basis of the county fair, more so than the entertainment it provides.
"So many people are displaced from our agricultural roots," she said. "The fair is a place where they can come back to see where their food comes from."
A past fair superintendent of beef, a former Ag teacher and a member of the Green County Beef Producers, Gorr has been involved with 4-H since 1991. Her children have shown livestock at the fair for about 11 years.
"At the fair, kids, youths and adults can show off their talents and bring agriculture alive," Gorr said.
Brugger, rural Monticello, was voted in as treasurer of the board. She plans to step down from her current position as a superintendent of poultry, but will remain on the auction committee, to take on her new role. She has been in 4-H since 1988, first as a member and then as a leader of the Jolly Mixers 4-H club in Albany.
She is aware of the financial challenges the fair board has seen, especially in recent years.
"It's going to be a big job," she said.
Brugger said she accepted her nomination after she heard there "might not be a fair next year."
"We need to make it friendlier to families," she said.
To do that, Brugger said, the board is looking for more local and regional talent for the grandstand shows and cutting the prices for the grandstand, tractor pulls and gate admissions. Fair-goers will still find the rodeo and the Badger State Tractor Pull during fair week.
The joys of the county fair are "seeing everybody from around the county that you've made friends with, and showing," she said.
Forrester has been one of the four beef supervisors at the county fair for the past five to six years.
"My kids were in 4-H and FFA and showed, until they had to retire. But (the county fair) always been a family thing for us, and I thought I could give back. It's a nice community function, and the kids learn something," Forrester said.
"I would like to see us have, in this economical time, something for the whole family to see, something economical. It's a local event, and I want to support it and make it better," he added.
The Green County Fair Association has about 300 stockholders. Holding a share in the association "does not make you a penny," Forrester said. "There's a misnomer in the community about that."
Leaving the board are Joyce Binder, secretary and superintendent of speed; Judy Hanson, treasurer; and Duane Meier, superintendent of dairy.
Sam Kaderly, president of the board, noted the leaving members take with them 60 to 70 years of Green County Fair experience.
All directors are required to have 4-H experience, through their own participation or their children's.
Debra Gorr, Leslie Brugger and Todd Forrester were elected to the Green County Fair Association board in November, each with a three-year term. All three new directors pointed to the continuation of the county fair as their main concern and the reason for accepting their nominations.
"I think we have a good board, and we had a good board in the past, but we have to change with the times," said Forrester, rural Brodhead.
Gorr, rural Monroe, elected to the secretary position, said a time had come for changes to the board and for some "other, different ideas" for maintaining the fair.
Gorr is focused on the agricultural basis of the county fair, more so than the entertainment it provides.
"So many people are displaced from our agricultural roots," she said. "The fair is a place where they can come back to see where their food comes from."
A past fair superintendent of beef, a former Ag teacher and a member of the Green County Beef Producers, Gorr has been involved with 4-H since 1991. Her children have shown livestock at the fair for about 11 years.
"At the fair, kids, youths and adults can show off their talents and bring agriculture alive," Gorr said.
Brugger, rural Monticello, was voted in as treasurer of the board. She plans to step down from her current position as a superintendent of poultry, but will remain on the auction committee, to take on her new role. She has been in 4-H since 1988, first as a member and then as a leader of the Jolly Mixers 4-H club in Albany.
She is aware of the financial challenges the fair board has seen, especially in recent years.
"It's going to be a big job," she said.
Brugger said she accepted her nomination after she heard there "might not be a fair next year."
"We need to make it friendlier to families," she said.
To do that, Brugger said, the board is looking for more local and regional talent for the grandstand shows and cutting the prices for the grandstand, tractor pulls and gate admissions. Fair-goers will still find the rodeo and the Badger State Tractor Pull during fair week.
The joys of the county fair are "seeing everybody from around the county that you've made friends with, and showing," she said.
Forrester has been one of the four beef supervisors at the county fair for the past five to six years.
"My kids were in 4-H and FFA and showed, until they had to retire. But (the county fair) always been a family thing for us, and I thought I could give back. It's a nice community function, and the kids learn something," Forrester said.
"I would like to see us have, in this economical time, something for the whole family to see, something economical. It's a local event, and I want to support it and make it better," he added.
The Green County Fair Association has about 300 stockholders. Holding a share in the association "does not make you a penny," Forrester said. "There's a misnomer in the community about that."
Leaving the board are Joyce Binder, secretary and superintendent of speed; Judy Hanson, treasurer; and Duane Meier, superintendent of dairy.
Sam Kaderly, president of the board, noted the leaving members take with them 60 to 70 years of Green County Fair experience.
All directors are required to have 4-H experience, through their own participation or their children's.