New Wayne County Fair manager says he's 'here for the long haul'

A life in the farming community with plenty of hands-on experience and training has prepared Jarrod Snell for the role of manager of the Wayne County Fair.

Snell, a Triway High School and Ohio State ATI graduate, is a homegrown farmer who is looking forward to strengthening his roots and ties in the agricultural community of Wayne County .

Snell studied ag-ed at ATI. He worked for his high school basketball coach, Keith Snoddy, on his farm for a few years until taking a post at the Ohio State University at the Krauss Dairy Farm in 2010. He made a short move to the Poultry Research Facility at OSU-ATI before going back to Kraus Dairy in 2018, where he worked until June of this year.

That is when he joined the Wayne County Fair management team, shadowing manager Matt Martin who will step down as he runs against Karla DeMali in November for a Wayne County commissioner seat .

"I saw the posting for the manager position, and I got more excited about it as I got further along through the process," Snell said. "I've always come to the fair. I haven't missed a fair since I was little. Whether it was showing animals in my younger years, through high school, 4-H, multiple animal projects and multiple skill projects, FFA, into my adult years when I submitted photography for the senior fair, I've always been involved in the fair in one way or another for a lot of years.

"Now I'm getting to see the behind-the-scenes stuff that the everyday person doesn't see," he said. "It's really opened my eyes to the amount of work it takes year-round to prepare for six days of the fair."

Snell noted there are a lot of hands involved in making the fair go as smoothly as it does, from the 21 board members to the office staff, the countless number of volunteers in all the departments that help make fair as successful as it is year after year.

'Lord willing, I'm here for the long haul'

Snell sees his new post as a great opportunity for both him and his family.

"Lord willing, I'm here for the long haul, to keep things moving and adapt with the times," he said. "I'm here to last. I try to stay rooted as much as I can. This is a good opportunity for me and my family."

Snell and his wife, Meghan, have three children, Hunter, Aiden and Ellie. They both grew up in the Triway District and still live there. He has coached softball at Triway for several years.

Martin proud of his tenure

Martin served as fair manager for the past eight years. He also has served as secretary and treasurer of the fair board. He is proud of what has been accomplished.

"It's been an honor to serve in that role, which also comes with a lot of responsibility," Martin said. "I'm proud of the part that I played on the board to make the improvements we have made. I like to think that I'm leaving this post better than I found it."

Martin said the board made a good decision in naming Snell as his replacement. Snell is shadowing Martin, learning the ins and outs of the managerial duties, which are many with the fair on the horizon, opening Saturday, Sept. 7.

"The board went through an exhaustive search for a replacement, and Jarrod shows all the good qualities they were looking for in the fair manager," Martin said. "The board is confident of his abilities and look forward to his tenure."

The Ohio Department of Agriculture says there is a conflict of interest if a person were to serve as a county commissioner and fair manager.

"They're both full time jobs to do the job right," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: New Wayne County Fair manager says he's 'here for the long haul'