TIMONIUM, Md. — The Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society, Inc. announced that Donna G. Myers has been elected president of its Board of Directors. Myers, the first female president since the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society’s incorporation in 1878, has served for 17 years on various board committees, most recently as treasurer. President Myers, a Carroll County dairy farmer, whose family has participated in the Maryland State Fair for five generations, has an extensive background in agriculture. She continues to serve on the Fair’s Agriculture Committee and as a member of the Fair’s U-Learn Agriculture Education Committee.
President Myers was honored at the World Dairy Expo as the 2011 National Dairy Woman of the Year, and along with her husband Jason was inducted into the Maryland Dairy Shrine. She has served as: Maryland Agriculture Council president; Maryland State Fair 4-H dairy superintendent; Maryland Holstein Association president and vice president; past chairman of the Carroll County 4-H & FFA Fair; National Junior Holstein Advisory Committee member; and more.
F. Grove Miller, who has served as the chairman of the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society Board for the past 40 years, has been elected chairman emeritus. He is succeeded as chairman by long time Board Member Gerry L. Brewster. Chairman Brewster, raised on a Baltimore County horse and cattle farm, is an attorney and former Baltimore County Public School teacher. Mr. Brewster also served as an assistant state’s attorney for Baltimore County and as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Chairman Brewster has been a member of the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society Board of Directors for 32 years, serving on its planning, racing, scholarship and executive committees.
“Grove Miller has served as our chairman of the board with great distinction and accomplishment. While no one can replace Grove in this position, I am honored to have the opportunity to continue to work with Grove as he assumes his new position of chairman emeritus and as I assume his former position as chairman of the board,” said Chairman Brewster. “I am also especially honored to have the opportunity to serve with our new President Donna G. Myers and the other officers and directors of the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society. Donna will be an outstanding president and leader, particularly with her far-reaching experience in Maryland’s agricultural industry.”
Chairman Brewster’s history with the Maryland State Fair and his love of agriculture and racing began at age five when he won a ribbon in the Maryland State Fair Shetland Pony Show. What started with a Maryland State Fair ribbon has decades later led to him winning this year’s Maryland Hunt Cup, America’s oldest and most difficult steeplechase race. Chairman Brewster follows in the footsteps of his father, the late U.S. Senator Daniel B. Brewster who was also a Baltimore County farmer and leader of the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society Board of Directors from 1958 to 1962.
“I look forward to working with our new Chairman Gerry Brewster, the board of directors, and our outstanding staff as we continue to endeavor to make the Maryland State Fair a must-see event for all Marylanders,” said President Myers. “The Maryland State Fair is unique in that it offers diverse opportunities for all members of families, both young and old. Events from hands-on agriculture education to horse racing, the midway, fair food, and competitions available to 4-Hers and people of all ages, make the fair a truly fun summer adventure for all.”
The Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society, Inc. was incorporated in 1878. The first Maryland State Fair, located at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Baltimore County, took place September 1879 when a group of farmers held a four-day event designed to promote agriculture and horse racing in Baltimore County. The annual event was temporarily interrupted when the Fairgrounds was used as an U.S. Army storage depot and a vehicle repair center during World War II.
Heading in to its 137th year, the Maryland State Fair has grown in to a vibrant 12-day summer celebration and social epicenter that attracts more than 500,000 visitors each year, with an additional one million visitors visiting the Fairgrounds throughout the remainder of the year. The Maryland State Fair continues to feature an array of educational competitions that showcase thousands of the area’s finest home arts, agricultural and livestock exhibits, Thoroughbred horse racing, midway rides and games, local and national entertainment, and more.
For more information, please contact Edie M. Bernier at 410-252-0200, ext. 225 or ebernier@marylandstatefair.com.
— Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society, Inc.