Fair board and volunteers have worked hard to build it up

Dear editor:

I am writing this letter in response to Henry J. Commenia's letter about the 2009 Elmore County Fair and Rodeo.

Did you happen to notice all the capital improvements that were made by the Fair Board and Shae Burns this year? Bathrooms that have been an complaint for years were fixed and made usable again; rodeo arenas that had areas that needed repair got repaired, and RV parking for the families of the children was made much more safe and no longer a fire hazard!

All this takes time and money. Vendors were down last year, and again this year. We have been hit with some rather severe financial times, and this has hit the mom and pop vendor, too!

Bands cost money, and when EVERYONE is cutting corners, the Fair Board and Manager tried to make sure to save the county money by hiring a DJ.

Did you notice the Fair Board was able to get both the carnival and the rodeo the same week? That is an improvement from last year. Have you noticed that people as a whole do not care about the agrarian society anymore, so the Open Class and vendor area gets smaller and smaller each year? To blame the Fair Board and its manager for the economy is a bit harsh.

Elmore County is not Ada County, and cannot and will not ever be able to compete. Mr. Commenia, if the fair was such a failure, please don't hesitate to attend the Fair Board meetings which are held monthly. If that does not produce the results you wish, you can always join the Elmore County Fair and Rodeo Board and make the changes you feel need to be made.

As for the experience of Mrs. Burns, if you had done some research you would have found out that she worked as the Assistant Fair Manager at last year's fair. Walk a mile in her shoes before becoming too critical.

Kate Ackerson

Elmore County Fair

and Rodeo Board

Fair Manager 2006-2008