Two decades of tending to fair business leaves Taylor with feeling of accomplishment

• Many great accomplishments with new fairgrounds serving as the jewel in the crown.
• Kerry Taylor relished working with dedicated and passionate group of board members.

When Kerry Taylor decided not to run for re-election as president of the Holmes County Senior Fair Board last fall, he felt confident he was leaving it in good hands and his successor, Roger Boring, would be able to keep the ball rolling.

Taylor was elected to the board in 2000, becoming president in 2004, a position he served through last year's 100th anniversary celebration. He continues to serve as a member of the executive committee. He has seen a smooth transition for several new members.

Looking back, he points out the success the board has enjoyed over the last two decades has been the result of teamwork by a dedicated group of people. He was simply fortunate enough to be serving as president at the right time.

"The board was in a good spot," he said. "Roger Boring has been the vice president a number of years, and Matt Feikert is now vice president and Tara Shelton remains secretary. This has given me a sense of relief and less stress. I think it's important that we have a plan moving forward.

"But it has also given me the opportunity to pursue more in-depth areas such as acquiring funds for an addition we're going to put on the Expo Building," Taylor added. "We've applied for several grants and I've worked on those."

Guiding a ship with great crew

Taylor said he was lucky to be at the helm of the ship as it moved from the old, oft-flooded fairgrounds to the sanctuary of higher grounds at Harvest Ridge. He feels it's refreshing to be able to step back, yet still be involved.

"The accomplishments of the fair board and community as a whole in the last 15 years has been phenomenal," he said. "It's been gratifying not only on a local level, but on the state level as well. I think we've created a facility that will serve the community and the greater Holmes County area for generations to come. I'm super proud of that."

He notes the fair board is getting ready to host its ninth fair at the new location, and that also means the buildings are aging. They are going to be 10 years old.

"We know there will be ongoing maintenance, plus we keep doing some small changes," he said. "We set the bar really high, and the expectations have come along with that. We've really worked hard to maintain that, like paving projects and installing drainage ditches."

He said the state has been generous in funding projects, giving each of the fairs in the state $50,000 in grant money. Plus an additional allocation of funds has helped make more projects possible.

Naysayers fueled the fire to succeed

Big challenges were obvious, like finding funding the multi-million dollar facility, constructing, then moving into it nine years ago.

"The number of small challenges, the hurdles, came one after another, " Taylor said. "There were a number of naysayers who told us we couldn't do what we did. Every time I heard that, it was like putting fuel in my gas tank. When I look back at what we accomplished from 2014 to the opening of the first fair in 2016, the amount of work we did was really incredible.

"We had the right board, and we did it at the right time," he said. "I could not imagine taking on the challenges today to start this project, from costs, COVID and the aftermath, we did it at the right time."

Plus he had a group of people who were willing to put in the work.

"The challenges were put in front of us, but the solutions to those challenges were also in front of us; we just had to accomplish them," Taylor said. "When we started with the facility and looking at booking events, budgeting, hiring staff, to me, 2016 to 2020 were probably almost as stressful as 2010 to 2016.

"It was like we had an infant, then there was preschool, then early elementary," he said. "Those steps progressed, and I really think we've reached adolescence. That's getting past the black hole of 12 to 18 months of no rental and COVID and staff transitions and things that took place in that time period. I am grateful that financially, we kept our head above water with basically no income for an entire year. On the flip side, I'm extremely proud that we put on a good 4-H fair in that COVID year. I thought it was great that we were able to support the kids. And we came out of that."

Tremendous community support

Taylor said the support he received from the Holmes County commissioners and county Engineer Chris Young over the years has been tremendous, along with that is the business community and individuals too many to name.

"The financial support provided from individuals and businesses of this county is unbelievable," Taylor said. "I think that is a tribute to Holmes County. We accomplished something that would be hard to duplicate in most other counties in Ohio. It started with Paul Weaver donating the land, and it just grew from there.

"Where would the fair be today if we were still down at the old fairgrounds," he said. "I know I wouldn't be on the board. You can only beat your head against the wall so many times."

Taylor jokes that any fair board member will say it's tough to take a summer vacation, because so many activities take place leading up to the fair.

"I didn't have much of a gap between my youngest daughter being involved in 4-H and showing animals to my oldest grandchild being involved," he said. "Now I have three grandchildren that are showing animals and are involved, and it's rewarding to see that."

All the right people in place

One of the personnel changes was the hiring of Don Snow as manager of Harvest Ridge.

"He is just now completing his first full year and he is doing a fantastic job," Taylor said. "He's going to take us to the next level with the management of the facility in non-fair events. Also, longtime board member Tim Hershberger has taken managing the grounds under his wing, and Pat Martin is taking care of things in the office.

"We've got great leadership at the Junior Fair board, and the adult leadership has been good," he said. "The kids have been great. It's important to get them involved and hopefully they will stay in the area. Plus, we have 22 board members, so there are a lot of people involved."

Boring honored to follow Taylor

Boring is honored to follow his friend and mentor as fair board president.

"Taking on the role as president is not an easy task by any means and let’s be honest, Kerry isn’t going anywhere for quite some time," Boring said. "He will continue to help guide the forward movement of the Holmes County Fair and Harvest Ridge as a member of the Holmes County Agricultural Society."

Boring noted Taylor left a lasting legacy for which he will long be remembered.

"Kerry will forever be known as the president we all followed to Harvest Ridge," Boring said. "His leadership has set a high standard and created a strong foundation for the future of the Holmes County Fair and Harvest Ridge. It’s a testament to his vision and hard work that he will be remembered and respected for these accomplishments."