ASHLAND — In cooperation with OFMA, on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 the Ohio Department of Agriculture recognized all individuals nominated for outstanding service to their individual fairs with each nominee declared the Outstanding Fair Supporter for their county and received recognition by the Director.
In addition to recognizing every Outstanding Fair Supporter nominee, a special Director’s Award for Excellence and Innovation was given to eight select nominees who demonstrated forward-thinking achievements at the county fairs. Sullivan Township resident Susan VanBuskirk was one of these awarded.
Categories included Creative Ag is Cool Implementation, Outstanding Youth Involvement, Boosting Attendance, Capital Fairground Improvements, Increasing Exhibition Projects, Doing More with Less, and Lifelong Member Achievement.
The influence of Ashland County’s Fair Board Director Susan VanBuskirk Denbow has been felt since her participation in the fair even in her youth growing up on a dairy farm in northern Ashland County’s Sullivan Township. At nine years of age, she joined her local 4-H club showing Jersey cattle and various still projects that also included cooking and sewing at the fair.
Following high school graduation, she joined her mother Ruth, as the 4-H advisor of which she has continued serving for nearly 40 years. She says this is the time she learned to care for livestock, milk cows, and do all the other chores one would expect of the farm life and may be the driving force of her labors towards the continuing success of the Ashland County Fair. She currently serves as a volunteer on the Junior Fair Goat Committee.
In 2011, she was elected to serve Sullivan Township on the Senior Fair Board and is said to “have hit the ground running.” She spearheaded a $30,000 renovation project for the Goat Barn that included a concrete floor to replace the old dirt floor and new metal pens to replace the wooden pens.
The project also included scales to weigh the Junior Fair goats. Additional updates have included new lighting, an exhaust fan, concrete floors for the annex and a new roof! She had the vision and drive to get the project completed for those under her supervision as the Superintendent of the Goat Barn.
During her Director’s work at the fair, she identified the need for restrooms on the grounds near the livestock area, noting the need for families with small children, the elderly, handicapped, or those with limited mobility to have access to good restrooms while visiting the livestock barns or attending the Junior Fair shows and livestock sales.
She was active in the funding of the project which was completed for the 2017 Ashland County Fair. She assisted in the construction by helping install the partitions and painting, so they could be ready in time for the fair with the $150,000 addition.
Under her leadership, work was completed to bring new attractions to the fair including the “Bee Hive,” with new exhibits for the fair, the model train exhibitions, and the donation by Meyer Hatchery of an incubator and eggs to hatch chicks during the week of the fair as an educational display. She also coordinated the raising and feeding of the chicks after the fair and then the donation of the final product to Ashland County’s Associated Charities to help local families during the holidays.
She has also offered herself with other capital improvement projects including this year’s new seating in the Grandstand, the recent building of the new 4-H Poultry Barn, utilizing underused space into the “Bee Hive” and additional small restrooms, of which the ladies have a cozy nursing station for moms and their babies.
While Susan says she is a “behind the scenes” person, she has been observed mowing the fairground, planting flowers, weeding flower beds, assembling new seats, setting up restroom partitions, and assisting late each evening of the fair with the trash cleanup.
She has been found driving the water truck, taking down flags in the bucket of a tractor, announcing market shows, taking show tickets, and painting steps of the grandstand, to name a few.
Susan not only is a great contributor to the fair, she is continuing to think of ways to implement best use practices and ways to improve the appearance of the fairgrounds, all with a smile and cheerful attitude.
“I am always looking for ways to make things look nice. I have made hand painted wooden cutouts for some of the barns to add interest and a little color. This year, I found a way for a local greenhouse to create beautiful plantings in containers I found that were not being used; these brought even more color to the grounds, and maybe a bit of safety in some tight corners and foot hazards tight areas cause,” she shared.
In 1976, she married her husband John and they still live on her Grandparent’s farm. Together, they have two children, Steven and Jennifer and share 4 grandchildren. Her family said, “We are all very honored and proud of you. You are wonderful, caring and loving,” during the presentation of the Award of Director of the Year during the Fair’s Grand Opening this year.
Since her election to the board, she has annually attended the Ohio Fair Manager’s State Convention and is a regular contributor during the local board, regionals and participator in the discussions at the state conventions. She works at PNC Bank, is co-chairman of the Relay-for-Life event and volunteered as an EMT for Sullivan.
It was an honor and privilege to present Susan Denbow, Ashland County’s 2018 Director of the Year for the Director’s Award for Innovation and Excellence Awards for recognition for her years of dedicated service to the Ashland County Fair, its youth participants, visitors, and attendees focused on youth, fairground improvements and doing more with less.
