By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Jim Zumbrink’s decades of service to the Darke County Agricultural Society will soon come to an end. The man who spent 36 years developing the fair and fairgrounds into the Great Darke County Fair lost his seat during the election at the 2024 Darke County Fair.

Zumbrink has witnessed many fair board members come and go, but he has been a steadfast fixture. Without a doubt, there are probably more policies and decisions that he has been part of that he has forgotten than he remembers. He has helped guide the fair through many changes, including the addition of computers. Zumbrink began serving the fair in 1988 when much of the technology we have today was either in its infancy or non-existent.

Zumbrink recalled that when he first served as treasurer, Lowell Dill, secretary at the time, would bring in large legers depicting every bit of revenue and expense the fair had. He believes having it written down and sitting in front of you was much easier to track then than it is now on the computer.

Although he has seen just about everything when it comes to the fair, the two most memorable moments were the two fires. One destroyed the Cow Palace and the other destroyed the Swine Barn. “Those were the two biggest things that I went through,” he said.

Zumbrink had high praise for the board members that came before him, especially the officers that were in place when he took office. The officers at that time were Ray Lavy, Daryll Mehaffie and Fred Worch and Dill was the secretary. “Those guys were just great,” he said. “I was green as could be and I still am today, but those guys helped me a lot.”

He said Mehaffie was probably the board member he learned from the most, but he also took a lot from Lavy who “was all about the fair”. “Ray didn’t care about himself or anybody else, it was about the Darke County Fair. Daryll was the guy when we backed ourselves into a corner, he could get us out. He was smooth at that. As far as I’m concerned, they were probably the best officers that were ever around,” said Zumbrink.

It wasn’t the actual fair that kept Zumbrink coming back each year and running for office. He said, “I guess I like this part of it (meetings). I enjoy preparing for the fair and that’s what kept me coming back. People on the outside don’t know what goes on in here. Everybody knows what goes on at the fair, but here they don’t know. The inner workings of the fair are what I always appreciated.”

With board members coming and going, Zumbrink admitted the dynamic always changed when new board members took their seats. He believes the board has had some great board members, but added, “Every time they elect new board members, it’s different in here.”

One change that Zumbrink didn’t agree with happened because of a vote for president. Don Hanes challenged Lavy for the position of president and the board split its vote 5-5 over the course of several months before finally coming to an agreement that Lavy would serve as president that year and Hanes would serve the following year. That vote caused the membership to change the by-laws and allow for 11 members on the board. “I voted against it and our attorney said you’re nuts if you vote against it. But I did.” He pointed out a 5-5 vote can’t pass, which means decisions can’t be forced. Prior to 11 board members, the board was forced to come to consensus if they wanted something in place. He believes it’s easier to get a group of six directors to come together when you have 11 members which can force decisions and policy over the beliefs of the other five members.

Over the course of 36 years, Zumbrink has held numerous positions and worked in several different areas. He has served in all three officer positions and even served temporarily as the board secretary making him the only person to serve as president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. The following is his list of service to the Darke County Agricultural Society:

President – 5 years

Vice President – 2 years

Treasurer – 7 years

Band Show Spectacular – 35 years

Gates & Tickets – 33 years

Building, Ground & Equipment Maintenance – 31 years

Security & Safety – 24 years

Audit & Budget – 22 years

Executive, Legal & Judicial – 23 years

Farm Machinery – 22 years

Dairy Cattle – 21 years

Horseshoe Pitching – 15 years

Horse Pull – 14 years

Veterans – 13 years

Rates – 12 years

Cattle – 9 years

Swine – 8 years

Motorcycle Races – 7 years

Tractor Pulls – 7 years

Coliseum Exhibits – 6 years

Sheep 36 years

Capital Improvements – 5 years

Fair Book Premium – 5 years

Vocational Education – 5 years

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].