The Bartholomew County 4-H Fair board of directors has changed its leadership for 2021.
Just two months after retiring from the Wayne Township Fire & Rescue after 40 years of service, Rick Trimpe was chosen to succeed Mark Case as fair board president. Other officers elected include Corey Jenkins as vice-president, Susan Arnholt as secretary, and Nathan Downey as treasurer.
When Case was selected in 2017 to succeed Larry Fisher, who had been board president for 10 years, Trimpe was named vice-president. It’s a position he has held ever since.
Trimpe, 58, is taking the helm while the fair remains on shaky financial ground after last summer’s fair was canceled due to the pandemic.
“If we don’t have a fair this year, I don’t know how we can sustain everything,” Trimpe said. “It’s going to be tough.”
Besides the substantial loss of revenue from last July’s fair cancellation, the board has also lost money because few people are renting facilities at the fairgrounds south of Garden City, Arnholt said.
“Due to all the COVID restrictions, a lot of people are not renting because they are not having big weddings and other get-togethers,” she said.
In November 2019, the fair board announced they would start this year’s fair on June 24 and conclude it on July 3. However, the Indiana University School of Medicine states that widespread (herd) immunity from COVID-19 isn’t expected until late summer — and that’s assuming that everyone gets the vaccine when it’s their turn.
At this time, it’s too early to say anything definite about this year’s fair, Trimpe said, adding that a lot depends on Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s decisions.
As board president, Trimpe will oversee a variety of operations headed up by 21 fair board members, who each assume responsibility for a particular task. They head several committees that will be placed in charge of fair events ranging from swine or horse exhibitions to property rentals and barn superintendent, Trimpe said.
While there are several unknowns about this year, Arnholt said she believe Trimpe will do a good job because he’s a natural leader and mediator.
“He knows all the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of the job,” Arnholt said. “He also knows a lot of people, so he either understands how to take care of a problem, or knows the people who can do it.”
