Holmes County Fair Board gets generous donation for new farm building campaign
MILLERSBURG − The Holmes County Fair Board has a generous start to its next fundraising campaign with a $200,000 legacy gift from the Carl and Florence Maurer estate.
The money will go toward a plan to build a new small animal livestock and show arena on the fairgrounds at Harvest Ridge. Preliminary figures for the 12,000-square-foot building and arena are estimated at over $1 million. The goal would be to have the building completed within two years.
"On behalf of the fair and Harvest Ridge, we are extremely pleased to receive this initial legacy gift to kick off the funding of this project," said Holmes County Fair Board President Kerry Taylor. "This committee will attempt to multiply this legacy through securing grant funding and inviting other donors into the project who want to invest in future generations of 4H and FFA members in Holmes County."
More: From the Holmes County FairSee photos here
A longtime dream of the Holmes County Fair Board
Since the inaugural fair at Harvest Ridge in 2016, it has been a priority that the next major project for the Holmes County Fair be a small animal building and arena. For the first six years of the fair at Harvest Ridge, the Humrichouser Ag Pavilion has housed most of the livestock projects with barely enough space.
Due to a 20% increase in 4H and FFA projects and limited capacity in the Ag Pavilion, the goat and llama projects for this year’s fair are being held in a tent. A new building would solve the space issue and create more opportunity for additional projects.
Under the leadership of fair veterinarian Dr. Eric Shaver, an exploratory committee was established last fall to develop an initial plan and building concept. The committee features representatives from the Senior Fair Board and committee volunteers. A conceptual 3D rendering was created and is displayed at the 2022 fair.
“We identified certain needs on the grounds like off-season storage space and in-season fair needs," Shaver said. "Our numbers have exploded in the poultry and rabbit world. We thought if there was a way, we could morph those two needs into a building, and this design came out of several meetings.
"The next steps will be discussions surrounding engineering and formal quotations for this project,” he said. “We are excited for the capacity of additional projects this building will support and the improvements it will bring to the year-round use of the facility.”
Remembering Carl and Florence Maurer of Lakeville
The Maurers' nephew, Dave Maurer, and longtime friend MaryAnn Sprang represented the Maurer estate at a gift presentation during this year's livestock sale on Thursday. Carl Maurer died in a tractor accident in 1996; Florence died in May at the age of 103. The pair farmed 257 acres and raised hogs, sheep, and beef on their farm in Lakeville.
"Florence was all about the fair," Sprang said. "She spent a lot of time in the gardens and was chairman of the youth arrangement area, and she baked pies for the contests and the fire department lunch stand. Everything she did was about the fair and the kids. She was always helping the kids out."
Taylor said interested parties should watch the Holmes County Fair Facebook page for updates on the building project and the fundraising campaign. Those who want to contribute can contact admin@harvestridge.com. For more info on Harvest Ridge visit, harvestridgeohio.com.
"We could never have done this fairgrounds without the people of Holmes County who have really stepped up," Taylor said. "Over the years, there have been so many people from other fairs who have come here and asked us how we've raised this money. We have a very unique community. The giving we've had in the past has been phenomenal."
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes County Fair Board gets generous start for new farm building
