There are a bunch of good answers to this question. For me as a young boy, fair were cotton candy and carnival rides. Later on, fairs meant ribbons, premiums and food. In high school it was FFA, jobs and girls. As an FFA instructor it was transporting animals, work and long days. As a food concessionaire it is money, supplies and labor. I've heard many respond - competition, social, commercial interest and entertainment around the guise of promoting agriculture. All these pale as to the true value of fairs.

Fairs are life experiences that build our self esteem and values. They are avenues that teach citizenship, community Pride, cooperative endeavors and personal achievement. Excitement, hard work, personal relationships, failures, successes and people combine to teach individual and group pride. For over 30 years as chairman of the Spring Youth Fair, our board of superintendents has never agued about budgets or distributions of premium dollars.

As we look to the future, public money for fairs will be challenged. There are many worthwhile and necessary needs and fairs may not rank high on this list. But, what else can provide the opportunity to build pride and esteem across all ages, social groups and business opportunities. Fairs are the vehicle that offers the American dream to all of us.