By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS -- A $93,937.76 profit makes Cass County Fair officials optimistic about connecting to sewer in the coming year.
At its annual meeting in the Agnes Gregarek community building at the fairgrounds attended by 81 Fair Association members Tuesday night, the balance sheet showed income of $516,639.23 against expenses of $422,701.47.
It was reported that the Cass County Fair ranks fourth out of 27 counties in northern Indiana and southern Michigan for the amount buyers spend at the 4-H livestock auction.
Skibbe, completing her 26th fair, was re-elected to the fair board along with: Ed Dohm, who previously served twice as a director; Bill Grabemeyer of Silver Creek Township, who has been involved with the fair for 20 years -- often at livestock sales; Dean Hass, a fair board member for 15 years; and Ben Waldschmidt, whose grandchildren are involved after his 35 years with the fair.
Elwyn Shugars of Marcellus was also nominated from the floor as a sixth candidate for the five seats.
By comparison, the Berrien County Youth Fair in Berrien Springs earned $44,983.33.
The Cass County Fair Association acknowledged nine years of board service by outgoing President Steven Green. New officers will be elected next month.
Vice President Gail Peterson said, "I remember Steve's first year. He was at the fair, ready to help. He didn't know what to do and we didn't know what to have him do. As the years went by, he helped out on a lot of projects. Now, there will be a lot of times we'll be calling him and asking him how he did this or that."
A 4-H club showcase was inaugurated with JOY, the Jefferson Outstanding Youth organized in the fall of 1998. Summer Teeter, five years in JOY, and Wren Doyle, six years in 4-H/four years in JOY, gave a brief presentation on JOY, which has grown from five members to 57.
Weekly community service projects have included stuffing Midwest Energy's truck and donating to a food bank. "We really love 4-H. It's fun," Summer said. "One of our latest projects is to start a junior Neighborhood Watch program. We're in Jefferson Township, but anybody in Cass County can come join our club. We're all really excited about the 2004 fair," which will take place Aug. 2-7.
Fair dates for the next three summers are: Aug. 1-Aug. 6, 2005; July 31-Aug. 5, 2006; and July 30-Aug. 4, 2007.