Clinton County 4-H and Fair Council Report

November 13, 2025 Russ Kaspar Local News

Clinton County 4-H and the Fair Council gave a progress report to the Frankfort Rotary Club Thursday noon at Arborwood.

Hannah Danials, 4-H Youth Development Educator and Hillary Guffy, Vice-President of the Clinton County Fair Council and Clinton Prairie Elementary School Principal gave an update on how things are going with 4-H and the Fair Council in Clinton County.

It is important to remember that Fair Week and Fairground “business” is broken into two pillars or separate areas of funding, responsibility and work.  In a sense, the Clinton County Fair is actually TWO fairs going on at once—The Clinton County Fair and the 4-H Fair.  You may have noticed the name of that special time of year is the “Clinton County and 4-H Fair.”

4-H Report:

Hannah Danials 4-H Youth Development Co-ordinator 
  • There are 339 4-H members in Clinton County supported by 74 adult 4-H volunteers.
  • There are 24  Clubs that are a part of 4-H in Clinton County
  • $4,000 awarded last year in 4-H scholarships
  • When you went to the Clinton County Fair last year, you saw 573 projects exhibited.  This is down significantly from several years ago, but 4-H membership is holding steady or going up.  Fewer students are completing several projects and more students are doing just one or two projects.
  • 3,628 pounds of goods like diapers, formula, cat litter and other necessary items were collected by 4-H members and donated to Clinton County Community Members County Wide.  This is part of the “Stock the Trailer” Drive.
  • Students received a $500 award for their “Stock the Trailer” efforts and could have done anything they liked with the money.  4-H students decided to purchase 500 dollars worth of blankets and donate them to Nursing Homes in the area.
  • 810 Animals were exhibited at the Fair this year
  • 4-H is one of the few youth organizations dedicated to Developing Skills for Life AND Character Development simultaneously.  Many youth activities emphasize one or the other. 4-H values are dedicated to pursuing both.
  • The Mini-Mentor program for K-2nd graders saw a 138.3% increase with 82 members.  This growth was number one in the State of Indiana.

Fair Council Report:

Hillary Guffy, Vice-President of the Clinton County Fair Council and Clinton Prairie Elementary School Principal
  • There are 9 Board Positions on the all-volunteer Fair Council board, currently occupied by 7 individuals
  • Fair Council business includes fair building rentals, harness racing, demolition derby, building and grounds on the fairgrounds and electrical, plumbing, grandstand and drainage maintenance throughout the 44.7 acre area.
  • This year the council, in cooperation with Clinton County Commissioners, completed the destruction of the 1930’s era Cattle barn and replaced it with 2 buildings are one east side of the fairgrounds.  Funding for this was, in part, from a grant that was soon to expire at the commissioners office.
  • The Fair Council partners with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office to have inmates for the Clinton County Jail help with maintenance at the Fair Grounds.
  • The harness racing facility at the Clinton County Fairgrounds is recognized state-wide for its fast high quality track and is the back-up track for the Indiana State Fair if the State Fair races cannot be run in Indianapolis for any reason.
  • The grand stand remains as one of the biggest “hurdles” or “challenges” facing the Fair Council.  Several years ago, the council recieved a bid of $1,200,000 to build new stands replacing the current one.  More recently, that quote has gone up to $1,700,000.  ADA compliance on the new stands is a major consideration facing the board.  The stands can’t just be sandblasted, renovated and painted to cure the maintenance problem.  This issue remains high on the Fair Council’s list of things to do.