Harford Fair Banquet awards students, WRC

By Lauren Royce, Editor

NEW MILFORD — The 167th Harford fair scholarship banquet awarded 32 scholarships to exceptional teens on Oct. 6, as well as a donation to the WRC. Through the evening, the new vendor barn on the fairgrounds was buzzing with conversation over good food from Poppy’s Smoke Shack and homemade desserts from the community.

“‘Thank you’ is not a big enough term for all of the directors, superintendents,” said Harford Fair President Dr. Michael Kowalewski. “Everyone here had a part in this fair at some point. The volunteers, whether you’re an exhibitor— it’s all what makes this fair what it is.”

He said attendance had been up (over 68,000 according to the program) and vendors were happy, making the fair a success too. He praised the weather, recalling how mud had plagued previous fairs. “I’m biased, but I think we have the best fair in Northeast Pennsylvania,” he said. And it will continue to get better. For next year, a new set of steel grandstands will be put in. “We are constantly trying to improve the fairgrounds and make it more accessible,” Kowalewski said.

Over $20,000 had been raised at the pie and bake auction, all going back to the scholarship fund. And more at the 4H live auction, which Kowalewski said grossed nearly a million dollars, showing how deep the community’s support runs for the club and the fair.

Kowalewski said the theme of giving back had become center stage after attending the Pennsylvania Showmen and Fairs convention.

“We were down in Hershey, and our keynote speaker this year was from Iowa State Fair— and his one kind of nugget that I think about in his speech is ‘give back, give back.’” So, the directors decided to put on the Maddie and Tae concert for a cause with proceeds going to the WRC of Susquehanna County.

First Vice President Heidi Stephens made the dedication.

“We decided this year that we wanted to give back to the community,” Stephens said. “We are very pleased to have given a percentage of all our ticket sales from the concert, so tonight we’re going to be signing you guys a check for $3,500.”

Fair Queen Madison Gaylord, who will go on to compete at the state level Fair Queen competition in January hosted in Hershey, shared some remarks on her time with the fair.

“I would also like to thank the fair board members for continuing the same tradition,” Gaylord said, as she remembered experiencing the fair growing up. “Being queen has allowed me to form a deeper connection with our community and understand what goes on behind the scenes.” She met with all 201 vendors, and showed her own cow. Her favorite part was meeting the 4Hers.

Queen Alternate Ella Scheer said she had always loved coming to the fair, and had loved being Alternate with Gaylord while getting to show her own sheep. “It’s definitely not a regret, I am so happy I’ve had this opportunity,” Scheer said. She thanked her parents for encouraging her to run as an alternate and the fair board for making the fair a success.

Youth Board remarks were given by Leigha McCain.

“We began the summer with our annual corn hole tournament— with the money raised from the tournament, we were able to award four $1,000 scholarships,” McCain said. The board, which began with four members then doubled, quickly moved to  publicizing their National Anthem Contest and taking on more responsibilities to keep the fair running smoothly. Overall, McCain said the year had been a success for the youth board, representing the fair with pride.

Presented by Scholarship Committee Chair Jason Miller, the following students were awarded $29,750 total in scholarships for their community service, fair involvement, integrity and academic excellence.

Cassidy Beaman, Lyndon Bello, Sophia Bianchi, Autumn Bonavita, Andrew Chidester, KayLeen Conklin, Chelsea Empet, Claire Getz, Apple Gilmore, Grace Graf, Allison Grosvenor, Quintin Grosvenor, Holly Harvatine, Hannah Howell, J. Hunter Johnson, Andrew Kowalewski, Jack Kowalewski, Abigail Laude, Patience Luce, Leigha McCain, Ellen Metwalli, Halley Miller, Charlotte Quick, Alexis Sebring, Ryan Supancik, Corey Vanderfeltz, Amanda Voll, Samantha Warner, Gabriella Watson, Emma Zipprich, Luke Zipprich and Megan Zipprich.

To learn more about the scholarships offered by the Harford Agricultural Society, visit https://harfordfair.com/fair-info/scholarship/.