The Navajo County Fair drew record attendance for it’s 80th year. According to Event Director Mina Henning, the count is not complete, but currently shows attendance was just over 25,000 for the five-day event. That count puts attendance more than 4,000 people over last year.

In addition, despite the high cost of putting on the fair, there were no expenses that needed to be paid from the savings account, something that rarely happens.

President Mike Mellor noted during the fair board’s Oct. 6 meeting that the annual Governor’s Fund contribution of $60,000 has been received.

The delay on a complete count of attendance was due to a visit last week by an auditor for the Governor’s Fund who required the attention of the office staff for three days as he reviewed records.

“The auditor dinged us on three items, but all of them were minor,” explained Henning. They included a need to have a “paid” stamp for invoices rather than just a signature and date written on them. This requirement is mostly to provide a quick visual confirmation with unified tracking. The second was to have an executive board member sign the bank statements to verify that they have been reviewed; and the third was to provide a list of assets that shows what items belong to the fair board and what items belong to Navajo County.

“We already have an asset list and the county has one that shows what items are theirs, we just need to do the same on our end,” stated Henning.

Aside from those recommendations, all other items passed the audit, putting the Navajo County fairgrounds behind just one other fair that received a 100 percent audit, the name of which the auditor would not reveal.

The board members who headed up the various events at the fair reported that there were only minor problems and that overall, the fair was very successful.

In a review of the fair, though, the board discussed some of the concerns that came up during the event.

The primary concern was the drainage from rainfall that flooded some of the vendor areas and the parking lots. Although the water was an initial concern, Mellor commended the City of Holbrook employees who assisted in removing the water with pumps and street sweepers. “They really stepped up and did a remarkable job. The city deserves a lot of credit for the work they did,” he said. The issue of drainage has been ongoing at the fair grounds and this year the matter will be addressed to determine ways to divert waters from the area.

Board member Susan Henning-Shaw expressed concerns regarding the cantina and the high volume of customers that were served. “We went through more than 500 pounds of meat; it was pretty overwhelming,” stated Henning-Shaw, adding that the cantina is in need of not just more, but better equipment in order to serve the number of people who visit the rodeo grounds during the events.

Junior Livestock Director Jimmy Crosby expressed his concerns regarding the livestock sale and the sale of the 4-H animals. “The sales were way off, so I think we’ll need to come up with more buyers. People were disappointed, but what they need to realize is that we’re in the worst economy since 1929,” stated Crosby. He noted that PFFJ (Pigs For Farmer John) and Arizona Public Service Co. were very supportive and bought in volume, with PFFJ donating its purchases back to 4-H members as projects.

Crosby explained that if people put animals into the fair in hopes of making money, they’re going to be disappointed. “The purpose is not to see how much money you can make, but to allow kids the experience and discipline of raising an animal and taking it to the fair,” he said.

Vice President Mike Sample stated that there were more vendors than expected, and that everyone seemed very satisfied with sales and plans to return next year. He noted that even the psychic was pleased, although she had to be moved to a new location on three different occasions. Henning commented that she probably saw that coming.

In other business, the board:

* Approved facilities requests for the Fall Flavor Taste of the Town on Oct. 19, the Class of 1996 reunion on Oct. 22, the Holiday Showcase on Nov. 19 and the Holbrook Police Department’s holiday party on Dec. 16.

* Approved membership dues to the Arizona Fairs Association in the amount of $1,200. This includes registration for Henning and two board members to attend the AFA convention scheduled Nov. 15-17 in Laughlin.

* Authorized Henning to attend the Professional Rodeo and Cowboys Association and International Association of Fairs and Expositions conventions scheduled Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Las Vegas, Nev., at a cost of $399 for both conventions.

* Approved the hiring of Jme Baloo as a part-time secretary.