Clay County Agricultural Fair

From Clay County Agricultural Fair Website:

The first fair was held on March 31 through April 4, 1987. The founding Fair Board officers and members in 1987 were: Claude Kelly, Chairman; Sam Saunders, Vice Chairman; Marcia Barber, Secretary; Tommy Thomas, Treasurer; Dr. William S. Bazley, Sherman Phillips, Sarah Boe, Jennings Murrhee, Inez Kennedy, Martha Maxwell, Virgil Fox, Merrill Glisson. The first fair was advertised and marketed by the Clay County Crescent weekly newspaper, with assistance of Managing Editor Elaine Williamson and Staff Writer Ann Williamson. Countless hours of work by volunteers finally paid big dividends when the ribbon was cut to open the first Fair in 1987.

While the 1987 Clay County Agricultural Fair had surprising acceptance and went smoothly, the 1988 fair was much improved. Learning from the year before, the volunteers gained considerable experience and each year extras were added to make the next years fair much better.

The Clay County Agricultural Fair is unique in that it is put on by volunteers and coordinated with a limited paid staff [general manager, office manager and office assistant]. The list of individual volunteers grow larger as these individuals join with the area service clubs, schools and various community groups each year. This fair is truly The Peoples Fair.

As the local fair grew, it became clear that there needed to be a fair manager and soon, one of the faithful volunteers, Joan Bazley, was named to fill this position in 2001. Bazley retired in 2006, Pete Sutton retired in 2015, and Tasha Hyder is the current Fair Manager.

Today, the Clay County Agricultural Fair has its own administration building, and is named in honor of Claude Kelly. The pavilions and exhibit buildings are named after others who have donated their efforts along the way and there are plaques throughout the fairgrounds honoring the names of those who are members of the Clay County Fair Association, including the original Patron Life Members.

A visit to the administration building also reveals a display of wooden rocking chairs with plaques in honor of those who have been associated with the success of the Clay County Agricultural Fair along the way. The entrance gate off Highway 16 W, that accesses the free parking area and ticket office, announces to fairgoers that they are entering the Paul E. Reinhold Agricultural Fairgrounds.

Each spring the Clay County Agricultural Fair is at hand and is put on by well over 900+ volunteers generating attendance of 100,000+ over its ten day run. Recent fairs include 200+ vendors and stretch over 65 acres at the Paul E. Reinhold Agricultural Fairgrounds west of Green Cove Springs.