Fair board looks for grounds manager

The Great Northern Fair Board held their monthly meeting Tuesday night in the Timmons Meeting Room in the Hill County Courthouse.

Paul McCann, the board’s acting chair, and fellow board members Scott Doney, Carla Vaughn and Missy Boucher were present.

Business taken up by the board included:

• The opening for a new fairgrounds manager has been posted in the Hill County Courthouse and has been advertised through Job Services and other venues, McCann said.

McCann and others could not say how many, if any, applicants had applied for the position, but it would remain posted until Feb 1.

The job of fair manager has been open since October, following the resignation of Mike Sharp.

At their December meeting, the board voted 4-1 to keep fairgrounds manager one full-time position, rather than dividing the job’s managerial and groundskeeper duties into two part-time positions. Board member Missy Boucher was the lone dissenting vote.

• The county is looking to fill two vacancies on the board. The open positions were created by the death of former board chair Alma Seidel in October and the departure of board member Lori Roberts late last year.

Hill County Commissioner Jeff Lavoi said the commissioners are looking at past applicants who were not appointed, asking them if they wanted to come in for interviews, and are looking at new prospects.

Interested candidates can apply for either the fairgrounds manager position or the vacancies on the fair board by contacting the Hill County Commissioners office or the office of Hill County Personnel Clerk Emily Mayer.

• Board members approved a motion to set aside $15,000 for entertainment for this year’s Great Northern Fair.

Boucher, who sits on the board’s carnival committee, said that in the past,z entertainment has ranged from a stingray exhibit where fairgoers could touch and learn about the creatures to performances by escape artist Lady Houdini.

“So you just have got to think outside the box to think of new things to do, or old things that keep kids entertained, keep older people entertained,” Boucher said.

She said she will be sending out emails and reach out to prospective acts.

Boucher said some possible acts for the 2016 Fair could include: “The Curly Haired Magician,” “Freckles Farm and Pony Ride,” and “Double Trouble,” a magician duo.

The National Guard might be willing to bring a climbing wall for entertainment, she said.

Boucher said the arrangements for the entertainment acts will have to be made before the next fairboard meeting in February, since other fairs within the area are starting to finalize their acts, which could limit their choices.

She said that fairs try to get acts that are already performing at venues nearby, so they can get a better deal, since the acts don’t have to travel as far if they are in the area anyway.

• Officers were elected at the meeting. The four members present voted by acclamation moved to make acting Chair Paul McCann the board’s new chair and Carla Vaughn it’s vice chair.