2012 Fair kickoff celebration set July 1

A four-wheel-drive John Deere Gator, donated by Wright Implement, will be auctioned off as part of the July 1 kickoff event for the 2012 Putnam County Fair. Wright Implement representatives (from left) John Wright, Brian Wright and Rick Herrington were on hand at the fairgrounds recently to donate the Gator to members of the Putnam County Fairgrounds Endowment Committee, including (seated) Lauralee Baugh and Steve Greeson and (standing) Vicki Timm, Foundation Executive Director Elaine Peck and Heather and Ray Poynter. All proceeds from the sale of the Gator will go to the Fairgrounds Endowment Fund at the Foundation.

The 2012 Putnam County Fair Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, July 1 from 2-4 p.m. in the Community Building on the local fairgrounds.

The event is free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated.

Donations received at the celebration will support the Putnam County Fairgrounds Endowment established by the Fair Board in 2011, and will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to a total of $10,000 by the Putnam County Community Foundation.

The endowment supports maintenance and capital improvement projects at the Putnam County Fairgrounds.

Sponsored by Co-Alliance and Land O'Lakes, this year's celebration is an ice cream social. It will feature an auction conducted by Rick Parent and Kenny Torr for a John Deere Gator 550 (four-wheel drive) donated by Wright Implement of Williamsport, Crawfordsville and Rockville.

Entertainment will be provided by The Overtones. The celebration will honor 4-H leaders past and present who have done so much to mentor and encourage youth to become positive leaders and contributors to our community.

Meanwhile, the Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony, commemorating the completion of a bio-retention pond at the fairgrounds.

In addition, members of the endowment's Founders Club will be recognized. Founders Club members are persons contributing cumulative gifts of $1,000 or more.

Ten-year 4-H'er Lauren Greeson, a member of the Founders Club, is the largest single donor to the endowment to date. She donated the proceeds from the sale of her steer in the 2011 4-H Livestock Auction.

Last year, Malinda Mann, one of the earliest Founders Club members, wrote a letter to editor noting: "To be a founder of the Fairgrounds Endowment is an investment of $1,000. In my mind (a math teacher) I see this as 20 years of 4-H for four children. Yes, R.T. started when Chelsey was finishing! So for 20 years of family time spent walking hogs and sheep, sewing clothes, painting furniture, driving lawnmowers, and much more, it will cost us $50 a year.

"That is really cheap family time for us. We can't even take the whole family to a movie for $50. If I figure this per child, I arrive at $12.50 a year. I know that my family is in its final six years of 4-H, but I hope to keep watching nephews, nieces, neighbors and former students' children for the rest of my Putnam County life."

Contributions to the Fairgrounds Endowment should be made payable to the Putnam County Community Foundation with "Putnam County Fairgrounds" in the memo, and mailed to 2 S. Jackson St., Greencastle, IN 46135.

Donations will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to a total of $10,000 by the Foundation. Community Foundation staff members are available to help donors make gifts of cash, stock, retirement assets, life insurance, bequests, real estate and other types of gifts to the Endowment.

The Community Foundation was established in 1985 and administers more than 225 funds and endowments for donors, supporting a variety of charitable purposes. To learn more about how to make a contribution to this endowment or start a new fund, visit www.pcfoundation.org or contact Elaine Peck at 653-4978.