JULY/AUG

ISSUE 16

2015

BI-MONTHLY

BUSINESS

REPORT

Mount Pleasant

EVERYTHING TEXAS HEARTBEAT

INVESTING IN EDUCATION

P.14 SUMMER FUN Things to do in mount pleasant P.12

TITUS COUNTY FAIR

Johnny Longlegs Sighting with Chamber Partner, Heav’nly Foods.

Mount Pleasant

contents:

mtpleasanttx.com 3

Partners 4

Quake on Town Lake 6

Everything Texas Heartbeat :Jey Yancey 8

Partner Spotlight: TRMC 11

Summer Fun Spots 12

Investing in Education 14

Future of Higher Education 16

Titus County Fair 18

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8TwentyOne Boutique Accolade Homecare ACH Construction AEP-Southwestern Electric Power Com-pany Allstate Insurance - C. Bruce Moler Applebees Neighborhood Grill & Bar Arcy's Salon 1 & 2 Area Wide Movers and Storage Bates Cooper Sloan Funeral Home Bella Smiles Bowie Cass Electric Cooperative Cecelia Hagey Chambers Home Health and Physical Therapy Chapman Transfer & Storage Inc Chili's Tennison Cowan Inspection Cypress Bank David K. Wall

Diya Modi LLC, dba Best Western East Texas Journal Efurd Orchards First Presbyterian Church H & R Distributors Ivan Smith Furniture Jones Insurance Agency, Inc. Karen Neeley Lil Man's Boutique & Sister Too M.O.M Ministering Our Military McCoy's Building Supply Center Mill's Flower Shop Motel 6 Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune Mount Pleasant Family Practice Mount Pleasant Healthcare Center Northeast Small Business Development Center Open Imaging of Titus Regional PDI Plastics

Pilgrim Bank Pleasant Springs Healthcare Priefert Complex Design, LLC Randy's Burgers Republic Services Roberts Air Conditioning Shelter Agency for Families of East Texas Sisk Motors, Inc. Spencer Miche Spruill Honda Kawasaki Taco Bell #551 The Bake Shop The Design Factory The Landing The Sign Express The Tri-County Press Trade Management

Renewing May 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015

Taking

BLK Locksmith Cigna-Healthsprings

Morrison Tech Services Mount Pleasant Pet Resort

Northeast Texas General Surgery

New Partners

To the next level

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May 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015

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Drag boat racers and their fans will pour into Mount Pleasant in July for the annual Quake on Town Lake. The event, billed as the fastest outboard drag boat racing event in Texas, is set for July 11-12 at Town Lake. Organized by Diamond C Trail-ers, City of Mount Pleasant and bene-fiting Cypress Basin Hospice, the an-nual thrill ride is something the Crabb family is personally invested in. “It had been going on since 1997, but they didn’t host it in 2004-2006. When my Dad and I got back into racing, we went to Hospice and asked if they’d like to do it again, so we got it reor-ganized and brought it back in 2007,” said event organizer and “Last Minute Racing” driver Jacob Crabb. This is Crabb’s 10th season with three wins at Quake on Town Lake -- 2009, 2010 and 2014 -- for his “Last Minute Racing” team in different classes. “We’ve been pretty success-

ful. Over the years we’ve had eight or nine overall wins, 10 second place and about the same number of third place finishes,” Crabb said. The event is one of six races in the Deep South Racing Association circuit and draws about 40 racing teams mainly from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Deep South region. This year, he’ll be defending his 2014 title as winner in the Outlaw class, in which there are no restrictions on the type of parts a team can use on their boats. “It’s an anything goes type class. You can run any kind of exotic after-market parts you want,” he said. In 2009 and 2010, Crabb won Quake in the Modified Production class, which limits parts to original stock parts. The racing team made up of Jacob Crabb and his father, Mike Crabb, has been at it for long before Jacob took over the driver’s seat. Crabb said his father had raced on and

off and took Jacob with him to out-board drag races from the age of five. “When I turned 18 and gradu-ated, I started driving a boat,” he said. “I’m an adrenaline junkie, I guess. It’s the speed, the exhilaration. You just can’t get enough of it. We raced all kinds of stuff growing up, motorcycles, cars, boats, whatever has a motor, so it’s been one of things that’s in my blood.” The hundreds of spectators who will line the grassy banks of Town Lake share in the thrill of the one-quarter mile races. “It’s an adrenaline rush just watching it. In the class I’m in, we run these boats 110 miles per hour in 660 feet, so it’s pretty quick. Every-thing happens so fast,” Crabb said. The event draws not only rac-ing fans, but the general public as well with its carnival-type family atmos-phere, myriad food vendors, a lively race announcer and access to the rac-

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ers’ pit area. “The pits where the boats stay is all in one area with the specta-tors. The drivers are really nice. They love to answer questions and show their boats off. The kids get to talk to the guys and get autographs. It’s a pretty light-hearted atmosphere,” Crabb said. “Families just come and bring their bag chairs, their lawn chairs and blankets and sit on the grass. Even the name of the Crabb team has a tongue-in-cheek meaning. “We call our team “Last Minute Racing” and put the name on the boat. It turned into kind of a joke because no matter how hard you try, you’re always scram-bling last minute loading stuff up to get everything ready for the race,” he said. But, when it comes to raising money for Cypress Basin Hospice and bringing tourism dollars into Mount Pleasant, its serious business. “We have so many sponsors that donate because they know what this event

does for Mount Pleasant and for Hos-pice,” Crabb said. With each team bringing an average of 4-7 people with them, about 60 hotel rooms are booked for the weekend, restaurants are packed and gas stations stay busy. “There’s quite a bit of commerce that takes place over that weekend, so it’s a good little cash flow injection for the city,” Crabb said. Chamber CEO Faustine Curry said Quake on Town Lake is a great event for Mount Pleasant. “With 40 teams coming in from all over the re-gion to our community, it’s a great eco-nomic boost for us and the proceeds go to one of our local charities,” Curry said. “It’s also a fun event for the whole family with lots of action and excite-ment.” One hundred percent of the proceeds from the admission tickets will benefit Cypress Basin Hospice. “They are a great organization, a great group

of people,” Crabb said of the non-profit organization that has provided family-oriented, compassionate end-of-life care for more than 25 years. “We will all face that at one point in our lives and in that time of need, you will need these people, so we want to support that.” Quake on Town Lake tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for kids and sen-iors and admission is free for children 5 and younger. There is a $10 fee to bring coolers into the park. For information, contact the Chamber office at 903-572-8567, Jacob Crabb at 903-466-1349 or Facebook.com/QuakeOnTownLake.

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He’s not a Mount Pleasant native. Or even a native of Texas. But his small town Arkansas roots and his college sweetheart led Jey Yancey to build his career and start a family in the heart of Everything Texas. The chair of the Cham-ber’s Tourism Committee grew up in Stuttgart, AR and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fi-nance, Risk and Insurance Man-agement from the University Of Mississippi School Of Business Administration. That’s where he met his wife, Cassie Redfearn, who has deep family roots in Mount Pleasant. He had lived in Mount Pleasant briefly during his college internship at Pilgrim’s in 2008, but headed to Dallas to start his career with The Repub-lic Group as a claims adjuster. It didn’t take long for the young couple to realize life in the big city wasn’t for them and they moved back

to Mount Pleasant, where he began working for Offen-hauser Insurance in 2010. “Toward the end of our time in Dallas, we were here every weekend. We weren’t happy in Dallas,” Yancey said. “I’m from a town of 9,500 peo-ple. Cassie’s dad joked their house was our lake house.” Their first child, Lilly Jane, will be six months old in July. Yancey just recently accepted a new job with Guaranty Bank & Trust as an assistant vice president-loan officer and is going through the company’s manage-ment training program, while Cassie is a dental hygienist

for Dr. Robert Sikes. “I’d been with Offen-hauser for almost five years. I loved what I did there, but it was time for a change and Guaranty came calling. I wasn’t going to say no to them. You don’t get op-portunities to work for such a great company every day. My wife and I are very excited about

the change.” He credits his volunteer work with the Chamber for making those networking connections that helped grow his client base at Offenhauser and ultimately led to his new position with Guaranty. He started volunteering in 2010 when he and Offenhauser joined the Chamber. He also is a member

I’m a huge people person and when I

came here I didn’t know anybody. Being

involved in the Chamber has given me

the opportunity to meet new people not

just for business purposes, but for per-

sonal reasons.”

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of the Mount Pleasant Rotary Club. “Joining the Chamber was one of the first things I did when we moved back here,” he said. “Actually, Bill Price kept coming to the office before I even got there and asking them to join. When I got there, I said, ‘That’s a really good idea. So, we joined.” Chamber CEO Faustine Curry put him to work on the Junior Chamber Committee at Chapel Hill High School and the Marketing Committee. He began serving as a mem-ber of the board of directors in 2012 and now heads the Tourism Committee and also serves on the Johnny Long-legs Committee, which plans appearances for the Mount Pleasant’s cowboy hat, jeans and boots-clad mascot. “We couldn’t be luckier to have such a strong volunteer as Jey Yancey. From the moment he got involved with the chamber he has stepped up to get the job done,” said Curry. “He has new and exciting ideas from serving as Johnny Longlegs to being in the golf tournament to being the chair of the Tour-

ism Committee. He is always more than willing to go above and beyond for the Chamber and for Mount Pleasant.” While his volunteer hours keep him pretty busy, he said the benefits are well worth the time. “I’m a huge people person and when I came here I didn’t know anybody. Being involved in the Chamber has given me the opportunity to meet new people not just for business purposes, but for per-sonal reasons,” Yancey said. “It’s work sometimes, but 99 percent of the time it’s fun. Even doing something once a month is going to benefit you on some level.”

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Let’s get straight to the heart of the matter: spending time with those you love is your number one prior-ity. Making healthy lifestyle choices and paying close attention to your heart health should also be a priority. Dr. Milan Sekulic and Cardiology Consultants of East Texas, PA, mem-bers of Titus Regional Medical Group, help you live the life you love, by providing the very best in heart care for our community. Dr. Sekulic has a passion for leading edge technology and expertise, as evidenced by quadruple board certifications: Cardiology, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiovascular Computer Tomography. Cardiology Consultants of East Texas offers comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular disease, from irregular rhythm detection and manage- ment, to advanced heart failure management, without missing a beat. With a wide array of diagnos- tic capabilities, including electrocardiography, echocardiography, stress testing, and holter monitoring to name a few, Dr. Sekulic and his team possess a stellar reputation for accurate diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular issues. Conveniently located adjacent to Titus Regional Medical Center in Titus Medical Plaza, Cardiology Consultants is positioned on the third floor in Suite 310. New patients are always welcomed and appointments may be made by calling 903.577.7070.

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Dr. Milan Sekulic

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Take a Downtown Stroll A Texas Main Street city, the historic downtown district features plenty of old-timey charm with brick sidewalks to stroll while you shop for antiques, unique gifts, fine jewelry as well as de-signer clothing and shoes in a variety of boutiques. With buildings dating back the late 1890s, the oldest – located at the corner of 1st and Jefferson Streets, features an original Dr. Pepper mural. The Titus County Courthouse was origi-nally built in 1897. After three building remodels, the solid brass bell that hung in the original structure now hangs in a memorial bell tower located opposite the courthouse grounds. Take a Step Back in Time -The Mount Pleasant Historical Muse-um is housed inside the Mount Pleasant City Library, featuring displays and arti-facts from its Caddo Native American history and the Civil War era as well as a collection of photographs from the city’s original pioneers. -The Mid America Flight Museum fea-tures antique planes. Housed in a new hanger being constructed at the Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport, the majority of the museums 20 planes fly on a reg-ular basis, while all others are being

restored to fly. The star of the museum is the DC-3 “Sky King,” believed to be the most historically documented com-bat aircraft of WWII. -The Edison Phonograph Museum is aptly housed in the basement of Hoo-ver’s Jewelry in the historic 1925 Mount Pleasant Public Library building. The 70-80 machines on display are part of a private collection by Hoover’s owner, David Hoover and fellow phonograph collectors. Make A Splash -Mount Pleasant is in the heart of Texas Lake Country. With three lakes – Lake Bob Sandlin, Lake Monticello and Welsh Lake - outdoor enthusiasts have access to 17,000 acres within minutes for boating, swimming, camping, hiking, jet skiing and some of the best catfish, crappie and bass fishing in Texas. There are nine city parks, including Town Lake, which borders the Mount Pleasant Country Club, featuring a sce-nic respite with picnic tables, grills and two boat ramps. Dellwood Park, a 45-acre wooded park – once famous for its mineral springs – includes a swimming pool, jogging and nature trail, tennis courts, picnic tables, pavilions, play-grounds and sports fields.

Hit the Golf Course The Mount Pleasant Country Club fea-tures a beautiful, semi-private 18-hole, 6,550-yard, par 72 championship golf course, a full-service clubhouse, swim-ming pool and tennis courts. Indulge Your Sweet Tooth You don’t have to go far to find sweets in Mount Pleasant. There’s decadent gourmet, hand-made chocolates from Sweet Shop USA, mouthwatering baked-from-scratch cheesecakes from Laura’s Cheesecake & Bakery and de-lectable, gourmet, old-fashioned pecan pralines from Golden Gals Candy Com-pany and The Bake Shop. Take an Outdoor Adventure This is real Northeast Texas fun! Go four-wheeling, horseback riding, hiking and fishing at Camp Langston and Harts Bluff Game Ranch. The 640-acre Lake Bob Sandlin State Park also offers a great getaway for nature trail hikers and campers and boaters with three public boat ramps, a county park, Bare-foot Bay Marina also offer boat access, camping and a wide range of recrea-tional activities.

Summer is here! It’s time get outside and enjoy Everything Texas! There’s no need to pack, either. There’s lot of summer

fun and close-to-home exploring right here in our own back yard!

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Get Up Close with Nature Nature and plant lovers can take in the Master Gardens Nature Trail. The trail features demonstration beds filled with Texas’ superstar plants, rainwater har-vesting, a walking trail, bluebird hous-es, sunflower bed, iris beds and wet-land bogs. Pick Your Own Berries Efurd Orchards offers its famous peaches and fresh produce, jams, hon-ey, salsa and homemade ice cream at its roadside stand on Highway 271 just south of Pittsburg. By the end of June blackberries are ready the blueberries come in around July. The best thing is you can buy a pint or take the kids out in the berry patch and pick your own. Greer Farm in Daingerfield also invites folks into their berries patches to take home some of the best berries around. Make a Toast Cap off your day trip at Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards and Winery in Camp County by enjoying a glass of their award-winning wines, gourmet foods and live jazz music.

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“We have this great group of

people who are busy pursuing their

passion, which is children and

Education.”

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The partnership between Chamber businesses and Titus County schools is fostering unique and innova-tive programs that propel students and teachers toward success. At the heart of that partnership is the Chamber Edu-cation Committee. “We have this great group of people who are busy pursuing their passion, which is children and educa-tion,” said Amy Hinton, chair of the committee. “It’s because they are so committed and devoted to that passion that we get so much done when we come together.” She said when the committee puts its collective heads together, indi-vidual campuses become secondary. The primary goal is to work together to find ways to partner with business in ways that benefit the entire education community. “Every superintendent serves on this committee and that is unheard of,” Hinton said. “They don’t just send someone. They come and serve direct-ly; they roll up their sleeves and do the hard work.” Principal for a Day Among the committee’s signa-ture projects is the Principal for a Day program that is held every other year. Leaders in the community are invited to spend a day walking in the shoes of the principals on each campus. They do everything starting with bus drop off in the morning to bus pick up in the after-noon. “It’s pretty eye opening and en-lightening for them. They get a real un-derstanding of what that’s like and what those schools and those children need from them,” Hinton said. State of Education Luncheon Also held every other year, the State of Education Luncheon gives business leaders a chance to hear di-rectly from the superintendents about what is happening at their campuses, their districts as well as legislation that is on the horizon that will affect educa-

tion in Northeast Texas. “Last year we held it at the Civ-ic Center and we included demonstra-tions from the students. They set up an area and got to show the leaders things they were doing on their campuses,” Hinton said. “There was an outdoor adventure program, a culinary arts pro-gram and an iPad demonstration. It was great because the business lead-ers not only got to hear from the super-intendents, but they got to interact di-rectly with the students. The kids loved being able to show off their stuff in that setting.” Academic Blankets The longtime tradition of awarding academic blankets to high school seniors with the highest grade point average in each academic area has continued for more than 65 years, starting with Mount Pleasant High School and including Chapel Hill High School when it opened its campus. “That’s such a big deal. Every-body looks forward to it every year,” she said. “The businesses understand that when they do a sponsorship like an academic blanket, they are making an investment in those kids and in the fu-ture of Northeast Texas.” The Chamber sponsors the program, selling the sponsorships to businesses during its Total Resource Campaign. “Those academic blanket spon-sorships are the first things to sell out during the TRC because that program is near and dear to their hearts,” she said. New Teacher Breakfast The next program on the agen-da for the Education Committee is wel-coming new teachers with the New Teacher Breakfast at the start of the upcoming school year. Hinton says the event is the perfect representation of all the Chamber wants to do when it says it wants to partner with business and education.

“We put on this breakfast in their honor. Some are new to the city, some new to their districts and some new to their campus. The Chamber businesses comes out and supports them 1,000 percent because they get to make connections, network with teach-ers and administrators and foster those relationships that are invaluable on both sides,” she said. “The teachers benefit by meeting people in the com-munity. They might find their new bank-er or real estate agent there.” The breakfast will be held Au-gust 14 at 7:30 a.m. at Northeast Texas Community College. New teachers from all Titus County campuses from elementary through college and Region 8 Education Service Center are invited. This year, the new teachers will also be invited to take the Chamber’s new Everything Texas Tour later that same day. The tour will give them a closer look around Mount Pleasant to get acclimated to their new city or get a fresh appreciation for the things that make Mount Pleasant a great place to live and work. “We did a test run on our Lead-ership Mount Pleasant class and it was a smash. They loved it,” Hinton said. LEAP Youth Expo The Education Committee is also looking to partner with Workforce Solutions and add a new program for eighth grade students in the spring as they get ready for high school and start mapping out their future career path. With the state of Texas now requiring students to sign an endorsement plan – choosing a career interest - in ninth grade, the Chamber plans to host a Learning Endorsements and Profes-sions Youth Expo. “The exhibitors would offer stu-dents a glimpse into various profes-sions and explain and demonstrate dif-ferent career options,” Hinton said. “The students will leave better prepared to make an informed education and career decision.”

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Back in 1975, Americans were filled with pride and patriotism as the nation celebrated its Bicentennial. In Titus County, some local residents thought it would be the perfect time to put on a county fair. It was small, but well enough attended that the small group of volunteers, headed up by Titus County Extension Agents Huella Camp-bell and Dick McCarver, de-cided to keep it going. That’s when the Titus County Fair Association was born and the fairgrounds have lit up the fall sky every year since. The 2015 fair cele-brates those 40 years with bigger and better entertain-ment, longtime fair staples like the Livestock Show and Auction, the Academic Ro-deo, Fine Arts and Creative Arts Shows, the Bake Show and the Chicken Stew Challenge, newer events like the 5K Run, started in 2012 and a salute to its rich history of past events, acts and beloved volunteers. “It’s been fun to see the fair grow through the years to where we are now,” Titus County Fair President Ste-ve Russell says in his remarks in the 2015 catalog. “The days of setting up a tent and hanging up long cords with lights for livestock are memories for a

few of us. The fair has indeed come a long way.” Titus County Fair Vice Presi-dent Marie Thomas and Secretary Gail Blair spent their lunch hour recently going through old photographs and files and reminiscing over colorful, funny and cringe-worthy fair memories from years

past. Thomas has been there from the beginning. She was a member of the extension club that Campbell ran back then and came out to the fair-grounds the first year to see what it was all about. The very next year, she was

in the thick of things at the Creative Arts building. “That first year it was held at the Mount Pleasant Rodeo Arena and the cinder block building, the ag center, that’s where the arts and food contests were. The shelves were cin-derblock and wooden planks,” Thomas recalled. “It moved the Civic Center in 1976. The livestock were under a tent

erected where the baseball fields are and the auction was held in the National Guard Armory, which is now the Fire Station.” Thomas, who puts together the fair catalogs each year, said the early catalogs were typed on legal size paper and printed at the exten-sion office. “Patty Cooper and I typed it all. She was the secretary.

We had one master and we ran it on the copy machine and put them together,” she said. Some of the memora-ble events the fair has had over the years include, hog wrestling, an ice cream crank-

off, a parking lot filled with wood, hammers and nails for kids to build stuff, 42 tournament, volleyball and softball tournaments, a dunking booth, a ping pong ball drop, an au-

to show, a parade and a pet show that awarded ribbons to kids’ house pets for things like, Curliest Hair, Loudest Bark, Biggest Meow or Most Spots. They’ve also had some colorful characters as sideshows, including the Balloon Brothers, chainsaw artists, the

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Biscuit Man, who brought a chuck wag-on and demonstrated how to make bis-cuits from scratch; the Button Man, whose clothes and car were covered with buttons; a miniature hay baling machine, the alligator wrestler, racing pigs and a monkey who liked to spit. Some attractions were a one-time thing, like the giant python that wrapped itself around its handler’s body. “In order to keep the board of directors, Steve had to promise us that we would never have snakes again,” Thomas said, with a laugh and a shiver at the memory of the creature. Blair nodded her head enthusiastically in agreement. There was also the year that someone walked into the Civic Center while the team was still setting up for opening day and said, “Did you know you have a bear loose?” “Needless to say, you’ve never seen so many offic-ers and directors jumping on four-wheelers and vehicles to go out there to see what the heck was going on,” Thomas said. “We were just standing there watching this bear. He apparently knew how to get out of its cage. Steve knocked on the handler’s door and tells her and she just calls him like a dog and the bear comes trotting back and gets back in his cage!” Weather has also left an indeli-ble mark on the history of the fair. One year a twister touched down and caught the corner of a tent and knocked a huge post onto W.L. (Wimpie) Cochran’s brand new truck. He was the first presi-dent of the fair, serving from 1977 to 1981. “We were busy working inside the Civic Center and we didn’t even know it had been raining,” Thomas said. The entertainment stage has featured lots of big names over the years, including The Bellamy Brothers and more recently, Terry Fator, the ven-triloquist who won America’s Got Tal-

ent. “He was scheduled to perform here the year he auditioned for the show,” she said. “He got a friend to fill in while he auditioned and then he made it, so the next year, he was very famous by then and he came back and did his show for the same price he charged us the year before.” She said the organizers are excited to bring bigger and better acts to the entertainment stage for the 40th year, including Jon Conlee, Susie McEntire Eaton, Tyler and the Tribe, Cody Wayne and Westbound 21, the Bo Hennessy Band, Jessie Raub, Jr.,

Los Tex-as

Wranglers and hypnotist Tammy Barton The 40th year is bringing back warm memories for everyone involved in the fair, from the organizers to the fairgoers who remember showing their steers, heifers, goats, hogs, lambs and chickens to blue ribbon winners in the food, arts and academic entries and winners of the Chicken Stew Challenge who received their awards from Bo Pil-grim himself. Some of the past winning recipes in the Bake Show are featured in the new catalog, including Murl Da-vis’ Peach Cobbler in 1986. There is also pride as past scholarships winners see their names in print in the 2015 catalog. The first scholarships were awarded in 1983 to Dwanna Maxton and Terry Horn. The 2014 recipients were Mount Pleasant High School Seniors Katy Bragg, Pres-ton Again and Presley McClendon. This year, four scholarships will be awarded, two $2,500 scholarships and two $1,500 scholarships.

The catalog also features pho-tos from over the decades and asks people in the community to submit their old and new photos from the fair on their Facebook page, which now has more than 7,000 likes and hopes to reach 10,000 this year. Blair said it brings the commu-nity together like one big family and also draws tourism dollars with folks coming in from around the Northeast Texas and the Dallas area to attend the 4-day fair. “It really helps the restau-rants and the hotels,” she said. Blair, who oversees the vendors, said it is quite a sight when everything starts going up. “To me, you go to the Civic Center and it’s a blank slate and when everyone comes in and you get all the vendors set up, it’s like, ‘Wow, you just can’t imagine getting to that point. Then, when the carnival starts setting up, it really starts taking shape. When everybody see the rides going up, they are ready to come in the gates,” she said. It brings the whole team a sense of satisfaction to continue the fair tradi-tion every year. “It’s a labor of love or I wouldn’t have done it for 21 years,” she said. There are also bittersweet memories of past fair volunteers. “There’s a lot who are now retired, like Huella, and there’s a lot of people we’ve lost over the years and we miss them,” Thomas said. “That’s just part of it.” Russell said all of the directors, chairmen and volunteers over the years have done a tremendous job keeping the fair going each year and have suc-ceeded in shaping and growing the event and the organization into what it is

today.

For information about the Titus County Fair contact the Chamber at 903.572.8567 or the fair’s website at tituscountyfair.com

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