GOLDSBORO, N.C. — Now more than ever, it is imperative to keep youth at the forefront of new ideas and innovation and Eddie Pitzer, manager of the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair, decided to put the thought into action. In January of 2022, the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair founded the Junior Fair Board to receive feedback (both positive and negative) to improve and enhance the 2022 Fair. Quickly, this became a group of youth that were committed to the mission of agricultural education and bringing together a community dear to their heart. The Junior Fair board is composed of 9 students and 2 advisors, coming from different viewpoints of a fairgoer. From 4-H to FFA, to your average fair guest, the Wayne Fair staff can receive a wide range of viewpoints from those who regularly enjoy, compete, or even volunteer at the Fair.
Throughout the past year, the Junior Board has been able to provide insight on what needs to stay, change, and improve in this year’s Fair. Two Junior Board, Chair Guillermo Estrada and Secretary Mallory Herring, received the opportunity to serve on the Fair Board and create a youth-adult partnership to provide guidance to the Fair staff. Interactive components in the livestock barn to provide impactful agricultural education to young children was a main point of focus for the Junior Board, subsequently creating a virtual scavenger hunt. This will allow for more impactful learning and a way to promote livestock showing and competition, while remaining fun and engaging for younger audiences and their guardians. The Junior Board will also be manning an information station, helping guide fairgoers to attractions, competitions, places, and maybe even give advice on good eats! This information station will allow for the Junior Board to gain experience in customer service as well as communication skills. In more efforts to provide fun sights for youth, the Junior Board also designed and painted a mural to add more life and character to the interactive kids zone at the Fair.
Keeping youth at the forefront of our minds is imperative to creating a more inclusive, innovative, and modern future and can greatly benefit organizations, events, and ideas. The Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair has shown great support to their Junior Board and both groups have benefited from their contributions.
You are invited to visit the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair anytime (September 29 – October 8) to see what the Junior Fair Board has accomplished; check the fair out at www.waynefair.com for more information.
—Barbara Byers, Wayne Cooperative Extension