Ohio Fair Managers Association

Newsletter Summer Special

News Flash Fairs Gain Relief on Electric

Demand Rider Rates

Fairs Capital Improvement Funded at $50,000 per fair

Ohio Racing Fairs Matching up to $10,000 for Standard Bred Live racing Program

The Ohio Fair Managers working closely with both the House and Senate committees and fully supported by our Government Advantage Policy group have had a busy winter and spring working with our legislatures and gain relief on the Demand Rider Penalty on fairs 11 months of off peak electric penalty. Please take a moment and thank your local representative and senator for their support. Another big win for our fairs is the Capital Funding available from the House and Sen-ate for $50,000 in matching funds similar to the last program with one added benefit. Fairs can appeal the matching portion of the funding directly to ODA Director Pelanda as part of the funds request. This program will be administered by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Expect to see documentation from ODA late this fall. OFMA encourages fairs to begin the forecasting and conceptual work to be ready to submit the projects and to go after funding from your county government, grant programs or donations in kind.

Ohio Harness Horsemen Association has an-nounced a matching $10,000 grant program. The purpose of the OHHA Capital Improvements Program is to facilitate construction and fund expenses for Capital Improvements solely to, or specifically for, a Standardbred Fair Live Racing Program. This program is a “100% Match-ing Funds” Grant Program, all funds requested must be matched in their entirety and the Grant Agreement will out-line an agreement that must be adhered to for Funds to dis-burse to the Fair Board.

Pg 2 Ohio Fair’s Queen Lora Pg 3 HB 166 Capital Funding Pg 4 HB 6 Demand Electric Rates legislation Pg 5 OH Fair’s Queen Lora Ohio State Fair Pg 6 & 7 OHHA $10,000 grant information Pg 8 Obhof: Ill see you at the Fair Pg 9 District Director Duties Pg 10 Education Coordinator Position Pg 11 OHHA Support Draft Announcement Pg 13 Convention announcement Pg 14 Fire Bulletin on concession spacing Pg 16 REDBOOK Review notice

Published By: Ohio Fair Managers Inc.

P. O. Box 2625 Stow, Ohio 42244 E-mail : ohiofairs@att.net

Web: Ohiofairs.org Ph: 330 208 0372

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Hello Ohio Fairs, Time has flown since my crowning in January however,

it has been well spent. Shortly after the convention, I was

invited to the Ohio House of Representatives and the

Ohio Senate where I received resolutions for my title. I

also had the honor of speaking at the 2019 Ohio 4-H

Conference and was able thank the 4-H volunteers of

Ohio. We also had a special recognition for Charlotte

Mary Wagner who was being honored for 72 years of

service to Ohio 4-H. In the months directly after, I have

traveled to Muskingun, Fayette, Wood, and Portage

County to attend the Ohio District Spring Meetings. It

was such a pleasure to get to know some of the people

that make Ohio Fairs so extraordinary. As fairs have just

gotten underway, I have visited Paulding, Marion, Picka-

way, Logan, Putnam, and Madison County fairs. The participation and support in these

counties have been wonderful and have only increased my excitement for the fairs still yet

to come. Lora Current, 2019 Ohio Fair’s Queen

Left picture: Lora accepting her Joint Resolution from Senator Matt Huff-man Bottom Left Picture: Lora With the Pickaway County King and Queen

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HB 166 Approved and Signed by Governor DeWine Granting $50,000 Matching Capital Grant to all Ohio County and Independent Fairs

Section 717.11. (A) The Agricultural Society Facilities Grant Program is hereby created for fiscal year 2020 to provide grants to county agricultural societies established under section 1711.01 of the Revised Code and independent agricultural societies established under section 1711.02 of the Revised Code to support capital projects that enhance the use and enjoyment of agricultural society facilities by indi-viduals. Agricultural societies may apply to the Director of Agriculture for monetary assistance for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, improvement, planning, and equipping of such facilities. Except as provided in division (D) of this section, each county agricultural society and each independent agricultural society that applies for assistance shall receive an equal amount appropriated for those purposes. Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section and subject to divi-sion (D) of this section, the Director or the Director' s designee shall establish require-ments and procedures for the administration of the Agricultural Society Facilities Grant Program, including establishing a grant application form, procedures for reviewing an ap-plication, procedures for awarding grant money, and any other requirements and proce-dures the Director or the Director' s designee determines to be necessary to administer this section. In issuing grants under the Grant program, the Director shall require each agricul-tural society receiving a grant to provide a matching amount equal to the amount of the grant, unless an agricultural society can demonstrate in a manner acceptable to the Direc-tor that the agricultural society cannot provide the matching amount. The matching amount may be any combination of funding, materials, and donated labor. Documentation of the matching amount shall be submitted with the grant application. An agricultural society that applies for a grant under the Program shall submit the grant application and matching amount documentation to the Director or the Director's designee not later than May 30, 2020, in accordance with the requirements and proce-dures established by the Director or the Director's designee and this section. After reviewing a grant application and matching amount documentation, the Direc-tor or the Director’s designee shall approve the application unless one of the following applies: 1. The project or facility that is the subject of the application is not a bendable capi-tal improvement project. 2. The agricultural society does not provide a matching amount as required in divi-sion (B) of this section, unless the agricultural. Society demonstrates to the Director that the society cannot provide the matching amount. The Director or the Director’s designee shall award all grants not later than June 30, 2020, and shall so notify each grant recipient.

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House Bill 6: Ohio Energy Bill Provides relief from Demand based Riders for Ohio Fairs

HB 6 Sec. 4928.80. (A) Each electric distribution utility shall file with the public utilities commission a tariff applicable to county fairs and agricultural societies that includes either of the following: 1. A fixed monthly service fee; An energy charge on a kilowatt-hour basis. 2. The minimum monthly charge shall not exceed the fixed monthly service fee and the customer shall not be subject to any demand-based riders. The electric distribution utility shall be eligible to recover any revenue loss associated with customer migration to this new tariff Editors Note: This will take effect 90 days after Governor DeWine signed the joint conference committee agreement on the bill effective date will be approxi-mately October 1, 2019. Continue the conversations with your utility customer service representative. To our knowledge none of the utilities tried to pressure this out of the energy HB 6. This primarily effects AEP customers.

Ohio Fair Queen applica-tions are on line here is the link: https://ohiofairs.org/images/files/current-ohio-fairs-queen-form.pdf

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Ohio State Fair Joint Meeting of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees

The annual joint meeting of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees July 30th at 9:30am at the Ohio State Fair. This year the focus is “Ohio, Feeding the World”. Ohio Fair’s Queen Lora Current with Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda and Ohio Fair Mangers 1st VP Rod Arter during Agriculture Day at the Ohio State Fair, Governor DeWine in the background.

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Obhof: I'll see you at the fair By Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof, Special to Richland Source, July 29, 2019 Reprinted with permission to OFMA August 6, 2019

We are heading into one of my favorite times of the year, when agricultural communities come together at fairs throughout the State of Ohio. My family and I look forward to visiting the Medina, Richland, Holmes and Ashland County Fairs and Ohio State Fair over the next several weeks. County fairs bring back fond memories from my childhood. I grew up on a farm and was active in 4-H. I know from experience that for youth involved in organizations like 4-H and FFA, the county fairs mark the culmination of a year of work and preparation. They show-case Ohio’s agricultural communities and give our families the oppor-tunity to make their own memories. I am proud that communities across our state continue to cele-brate agriculture in this way. This year, I helped ensure the contin-ued vitality of our fairs by sponsoring a budget provision that provides each county fair with the opportunity to obtain a $50,000 state grant to make capital improvements. Since I joined the Senate, I have fought for our agricultural communities and have made sure that their voices are heard in Columbus. This included eliminating the death tax, so that Ohio’s farmers can pass along a legacy to their children without government demand-ing more than its fair share. We also updated the decades-old formula for determining agricultural prop-erty values, known as the Current Agricultural Use Valuation (or “CAUV”), to make sure that farmers are not disproportionately impacted by short-term changes in commodity prices. This year is no different. The Senate has continued to focus on issues that are important to our agricultural communities and, by extension, everyone that they serve. This includes water quality, and specifically protecting and preserving Lake Erie and our other waterways by working with farmers in-stead of against them. I co-sponsored Senate Bill 2, which will create a watershed planning and manage-ment program and help coordinate best practices among farmers and local soil and water conservation districts. The Senate passed Senate Bill 2 unanimously in June. Unfortunately, this fair season follows what has been a very difficult year for our farming com-munities due to severe weather and flooding. This gives us even more reason to come out and support the hard work of these families and local businesses, who have persevered in spite of the adversity they have faced. Because of these challenges, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague has re-opened the application period for the Ag-LINK program, which provides farm operators and agribusiness owners an interest rate reduction on loans up to $150,000. Agribusinesses may also be eligible for interest rate reductions on small business loans under ReEnergize Ohio and GrowNow, two additional programs administered by the Treasurer. If you have any questions about these programs or your potential eligibility, you can contact the Treasurer’s office. I look forward to visiting the fairs around our district this month and next, and I hope to see you there. I welcome the opportunity to talk with you about what we are doing at the Statehouse to support agriculture, or any other issues important to you. You can find a list of all the fairs in Ohio at OhioFairs.org. You can also contact me at obhof@ohiosenate.gov or by calling me at 614-466-7505, and stay up-to-date by following me on social media @OhioSenateGOP.

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Duties of an OFMA District Director

OFMA District Directors serve 3 year terms, have 4 meetings prior to the next convention generally in Late February, mid May, September and early November. The Thursday of the con-vention the board meets for a final pre-convention review at 7am.

Director’s Duties: OFMA Board meetings

1. Board meetings consist of minutes review, financial review, contract reviews and approv-als, topics in the industry. GOSA, OHHA, ODA, and OSU Extension participates in all board meetings. 2. Board meetings are generally during the week, occasionally a Saturday will be scheduled. 3. Board meetings are held in Columbus with a continental breakfast & lunch also provided. 4. Travel mileage and parking is reimbursable. 5. Committee assignments by the executive committee. 6. Convention program topics are assigned by the program committee. The director locates the best qualified presenter for that topic.

Spring Meetings: Each director works with their other districts to establish a meeting with the guidance of the executive committee, locate a facility, create the invites, arrange a caterer, host the meeting.

Fall Meetings by district only, at the desecration of the district whether their district desires a fall meeting. A OFMA handbook is available for review from the OFMA office upon request If you have interest in more information please contact the OFMA office at ohiofairs@att.net or one of the officers.

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OHIO FAIR MANAGERS ASSOCIATION INC. EDUCATION COORDINATOR JOB POSTING

Position: Education Coordinator Reports to: Executive Committee

Principle Responsibilities:

Work with member volunteers to oversee the planning, development and execution of association continuing education programs including the annual conference and standalone work-shops/programs and cyber seminars.

Work with the Executive Director and the Program Chair in planning the marketing of association continuing education programs and designated service partner member services.

Initiate dialogue, assistance, coordination and logistical implementation of CE programs with State Auditor, Ohio Department of Agriculture and other similar organizations.

Maintain the highest professional standards and integrity of association programs by strictly ad-hering to OFMA policies including the OFMA Sponsors and Conflict of Interest policies.

Establish format and content of meeting evaluation tools.

Work with the Treasurer and Executive Director in developing budgets for meeting activities.

Provide copy to the Executive Director for reporting on educational program events to members via printed and electronic mediums.

Work with Executive Director to help insure the highest standards of customer service are ad-hered to in the execution of educational programs.

General Staff Responsibilities:

Work with Association database software, inputting and extracting data where appropriate.

Maintain information reference files for responding to inquiries in a timely manner.

Compose/Prepare professional business documents/reports/ presentations as needed.

Assist in providing member service via general telephone and e-mail inquiries.

Maintain accurate working knowledge of all commonly used office data systems (Excel, word, etc)

Read OFMA, IAFE related publications to keep abreast of trends, new information and issues.

Periodically attend continuing education programs of relevance within the association, meeting planning fields as budgets allow.

Qualifications: Substantial years (more than 6) in the Fair management arena in the Fair Manager or equivalent position with duties aligned to the Secretary or Treasurer, and other officer positons.

Driver’s license and vehicle for travel in Ohio

Knowledge and working ability of: Excel, Word, Power Point, Adobe Knowledge of the Ohio Fairs Ohio revised code sections, Knowledge of the State Auditor practices Knowledge and usage of the ODA financial reporting documents, processes and procedures. Non Profit Status Knowledge of the IRS 501 C3 Process Knowledge and practices in the State of Ohio Incorpora-tion, and Ohio necessary filing for Fairs.

Compensation: Yearly Salary range $5,000-$6,000 pending qualifications

Mileage: $.445 cents mileage expense, lodging: By approval

Expected Hours: 200-250 hours yearly

Applications accepted at Ohiofairs@att.net

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MOWRY’S Pizza, Stromboli, Italian Sausage,

Lemon Shake, Soft Serve Ice Cream, Flame Broiled Sirloin Steak

Kevin Pope PO Box 3204 Lexington, OH 44904

Day: (419) 884-0694 Eve: (740) 272-0895

E-mail: mowryspizza@aol.com

2020 OFMA Tradeshow January 3rd & 4th

Deposits are being accepted

Reithoffer Shows Inc. P. O. Box 1080

Gibsonton, FL 33534 Please call our office

at (567)371-9065 or e-mail dgrimm@reithoffershows.com

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Presenting Sponsor of the Ohio Fairs Queen Program

Sales of New and Used

Carts Service & Rentals

Eagle Golf Car Company 4270 Old Columbus Road

Carroll, Ohio 1-888– 432–3059

http://www.eaglegolfcars.net

Announcing the 95th Annual Ohio Fair Managers Convention and Tradeshow

Hyatt Regency Hotel January 2-5, 2020 Columbus Ohio

2020 Ohio Fair’s Queen application is on line here is the link:

https://ohiofairs.org/images/files/current-ohio-fairs-queen-form.pdf

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Technical Bulleting on Spacing and Clearance for Food concession units in Ohio

Editors Note: The Entire Bulleting is on the Ohio Fair Managers website home page for reference including the check list that each fire inspector is to

use on each inspection of mobile food units

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94th Convention Sponsors

2019 Presenting Sponsors

Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Battelle Hall

Mowry's Office Planners & Queens Dinner

Eagle Golf Cars Ohio Fairs’ Queen Pageant

Ohio Soybean Council Junior & Senior Fair General Session

Willandale Golf Cart Junior Fair Educational Meeting Expenses

Ohio Harness Horsemen OFMA Communications Awards &

Refreshment Break Horseman's Meeting

Reithoffer Shows Inc. Convention Program

Live!Tech Showcase of Bands

Talley Amusements Buyers Guide and Hospitality

Burnham and Flower Insurance Group of Ohio

Showcase Dessert Buffet Evening

Variety Attractions Extravaganza Evening Entertainment

Concessions by Cox Director of Agriculture Meeting

Annual OFMA Tradeshow

Sponsors Haas Wilkerson Insurance Co

Guest & Associate Drawing

The Fair Publishing Company Name Badge Materials

Golf Car Company of Columbus Directors & Officer Trade Show Drawing

Prowant Specialty Company OFMA Annual Meeting

94th Convention Sponsors

Sponsors Greater Ohio Showmen’s Association

Hospitality for Tradeshow

All-Win Electric Meeting Room Signage

Bates Brothers Amusements Hospitality and Extravaganza Snacks

Klein's Entertainment LLC Wine Tasting, Hospitality

Otter’s Concessions- Dippin Dots Extravaganza Snacks

Hospitality Breaks Queen Social Wednesday

Durant Amusements Hospitality Breaks

Poor Jack Amusement Refreshments Trade Show

Mr. Fun’s Ohio Fairs’ Queen Crown and Sash

Wise Greenhouses Rootstown, Ohio Queen Roses and Flowers

Lisko Family Midway Amusements Corn Hole Tournament

Poker Chip Sponsor's Triple treat Shows

Kissel Amusements & Otters Concessions

Coffee & Beverage Breaks Premium Shows of America

Cavalcade of Thrills National Tractor Pullers Association

Wood County Fair Higbie Farms

Mowry’s & Mr. Funs District 7 Fairs John Ackerman

Cronebaugh Auction Services Wade Flory Auction Services

Bev Fisher, Robert Dawson & Paul Harris Fairway Electric Inc.

94th Convention Sponsors

Sponsors Greater Ohio Showmen’s Association

Hospitality for Tradeshow

All-Win Electric Meeting Room Signage

Bates Brothers Amusements Hospitality and Extravaganza Snacks

Klein's Entertainment LLC Wine Tasting, Hospitality

Otter’s Concessions- Dippin Dots Extravaganza Snacks

Hospitality Breaks Queen Social Wednesday

Durant Amusements Hospitality Breaks

Poor Jack Amusement Refreshments Trade Show

Mr. Fun’s Ohio Fairs’ Queen Crown and Sash

Wise Greenhouses Rootstown, Ohio Queen Roses and Flowers

Lisko Family Midway Amusements Corn Hole Tournament

Poker Chip Sponsor's Triple treat Shows

Kissel Amusements & Otters Concessions

Coffee & Beverage Breaks Premium Shows of America

Cavalcade of Thrills National Tractor Pullers Association

Wood County Fair Higbie Farms

Mowry’s & Mr. Funs District 7 Fairs John Ackerman

Cronebaugh Auction Services Wade Flory Auction Services

Bev Fisher, Robert Dawson & Paul Harris Fairway Electric Inc.

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Ohio Fair Managers Association P. O. Box 2625

Stow, Ohio 44224 330 208 0372 ph/fax

ohiofairs@att.net http://www.ohiofairs.org Servicing Ohio’s Fair’s

and Related Members Interests for over 93 years

OFMA Future Convention Dates Hyatt Regency Columbus Ohio

2020 January 2-5 (Thurs-Sun) 2021 January 6-10 (Thurs-Sun) 2022 January 5-9 (Thurs-Sun) 2023 January 4-8 ( Thurs-Sun)

Ohio Revised Code and Rules Review Ohio Fair Managers 2nd VP: Paul Harris

The OFMA Long Range Planning committee un-der my leadership along with Past President Tim Massie and the Board of Directors has undertaken a review of the “REDBOOK” ORC and Rules. Our ob-jective is to look at those areas which have not been updated for years and try to incorporate modern times into our rules and regulations. We encourage each and every agricultural socie-ty to forward items within the REDBOOK that are cumbersome, impede progress, over regulate or need more strength to assist us in doing our jobs managing our fair. We are finalizing our working list if anything from this year’s fair has arisen a concern with the rules and regulations please forward by September 10 for our final review.

Have a Great Fair Season, Sincerely, Paul Harris, OFMA 2nd VP