Fair News

The Chippewa County Fair Board selected Joseph (JoJo) Bourque as our youth volunteer of the year for 2023, and at the 2024 MAFE convention he was chosen as one of the state winners. JoJo is one of those young people that is always willing to help out, no matter what you ask of him. He helps at the fair during the weigh in of our market livestock, moving animals to their assigned pens. JoJo works in the goat barn every day, cleaning to make the barn look great. He is at most of the work bees throughout the year, and helps getting bleachers in place around the grounds. JoJo helps with the Sr. Citizen Appreciation Luncheon, the Special Need Day Activities, and the Chili Cook-Off each year. On livestock release day, he helps with the loading out of the animals going to the processors. JoJo Bourque is one of those youth you want around, he is willing to help anyone with anything.

THANK YOU JOSEPH FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

The Chippewa Co. Fair Board has selected Shawn Campbell as their 2023 Adult Volunteer of the Year. Shawn is great volunteer for the Chippewa County Fair, he helped with the sheep housing assignments, and made sure every exhibitor was in line to enter their classes. He also helped with the weigh-in at fair and getting animals to the correct pens. Shawn helps at work bees cleaning and putting up pens and stalls. During the fair, he helps with setting up the livestock showring, and with the livestock auction helping get exhibitors lined up for the ring. Shawn was one of those young people that after aging out of showing at our fair came back to help out and brought his family along as new livestock exhibitors.

Thank you Shawn for all you do for the fair and exhibitors.

Mark Smart was chosen as the Chippewa County Fairs nomination for the Heritage Award for 2023 through the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions. Mark takes off the week of the fair from his job downstate and spends the week working at the fair. He helps with weighing of our market livestock, and helps with putting up and taking down the showring. He also helps with the livestock auction moving animals along, and you may even find in the showring during some of our livestock judging. Mark has been coming back to help for many years, and we appreciate all he does for the Chippewa County Fair members and exhibitors.

Thank you Mark for all you do!

The Chippewa County Fair Board has nominated Wayne Crimin for the MAFE Hall of Fame Award this year, the award is presented to those who have spent many years supporting the fair and agricultural industry in the state of Michigan. Wayne used his building skills to help build a goat barn, many years ago, which now has become a swine barn due to the increase of swine, but no fear, the goats were moved to another barn, and Wayne spent time making it suitable for goats. Wayne has also helped with the building of our new livestock office, poultry and sheep barns over the years. He was at most work bees before and after the fair doing whatever needed to be done to get the fair ready for the animals and then putting them away after the fair. Wayne and his wife Claudia spent an extra two weeks at the fair the year the hogs were quarantined with some kind of illness. He took care of feeding, cleaning pens, taking temperatures of the hogs and giving shots to the sick hogs. Wayne was a member of the fairs Sr. Citizen Appreciation Luncheon committee, where he helped prepare and serve the meal to the Sr. Citizens. Wayne was the head chef, cooking hamburgers, hots dogs, chicken, or whatever meat we decided to serve that year. This was done over the large grill outside the 4-H building, and some days the weather did not make it a pleasant time to be out grilling.

Thank you Wayne for always being there, you will be sadly missed, but never forgotten.