Junior Fair Board Deadline has been extended to Dec. 19 at 5p.m.
By Diane Booth Conway,
Merced County Fair Publicity Director

   Time is running out for teens who want to be involved in the 2008 Merced County Fair. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, December 19.
   The Fair is accepting applications for teens interested in volunteering their talents for a year. Forms can be picked up at the Merced County Fairgrounds Office, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced and also can be downloaded from the fair’s award-winning website, www.MercedCountyFair.com
   Applications must be physically received at the Merced County Fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced, CA 95341 no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19. Applications may be hand-delivered, sent via United States Postal Service or other courier service and should be addressed to “ATTN: Junior Fair Board Advisors.” Applications will be stamped with the exact time and date of receipt.
   The fair is recruiting teens to join the 12-member Junior Fair Board. Candidates must live in Merced County and be 14 to 19 years of age as of Jan. 1. A GPA of 2.0 or above is required to be eligible to volunteer.
   Adam Cox, 19, of Merced, is serving in his second year as the Junior Fair Board Advisor and was on the Junior Fair Board for three years before that. “I joined because I thought it was cool that high school students get to be involved in helping make decisions in planning the fair,” he said.
   “It’s a lot of work but it’s a great experience because you learn a lot about the fair and the community,” Cox added. “A big attraction for high school students is all the hours count toward the community service hour requirement.”
   Applicants don’t need any experience at the fair, such as showing an animal or entering an exhibit at the fair. While Cox once showed animals at the fair when he was in 4-H, he stressed that Junior Fair Board members don’t need an ag background to be a part of the fair. “Working on the Junior Fair Board covers a lot of things and everyone who serves on the board participates in making the fair a good place to go.”
   Cox is a Merced College sophomore and a member of the Merced County Youth Council and is a Mosquito Abatement District trustee. He works at the Merced County Times newspaper as news coordinator and is the editor of the Atwater Times.
   Marisa Brooks was on the Junior Fair Board for two years and encourages other teens to seriously consider volunteering. Now a student at UC Davis, Brooks said, “I was looking for leadership opportunities so I decided to join the Junior Fair Board. It was a great way to get Community Service hours and to meet people who have the same interests. I’m still good friends with several of the people on the board.”
   Junior Fair Board duties include providing input on what teens want to see and do at the fair, assisting with pre-fair planning, set-up and helping during the fair. Serving on the board will help fulfill high school community service requirements. Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month and as needed as the fair gets closer. The 2008 Fair is July 15-20.
   Each junior board member is entitled to free parking and admission for one person and one vehicle during the fair. For more information, call the fair office at 722-1507.

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