The Tennessee Association of Fairs 101st Annual Convention was held on Jan. 19-21 in Murfreesboro, at the Embassy Suites Convention Center. Several members of the Benton County Fair Board were in attendance.
Benton County’s 2022 Fairest of the Fair Trinity Woodard, daughter of Michael and Kim Woodard of Camden, represented the county fair in the Tennessee Association of Fairs State Pageant. The competition started early for Trinity on Friday, Jan. 20, with judges’ interviews and rehearsals. The actual pageant began at 6 p.m., where Trinity competed with 47 other contestants. Trinity represented the county well and Fair Board members were very proud of her.
Also on Friday, the Benton County Fair was awarded first place for their premium fair book. The Benton County Fair also was named second runner up for the most entries from Benton County entered in the Tennessee State Fair that was held in August.
On Saturday night, Jan. 21, the convention concluded with the annual Tennessee Association of Fairs Merit Awards Banquet. The merit awards program is sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Fair Board members were proud to receive an award of merit and to bring home the first runner up award among all the single A fairs across the state.
Attending the convention from Benton County were Keith and Kathy Weatherly; Brian and Crystal Weatherly; Trinity and Kim Woodard; Seth, Katelyn, Scout, and Kendall Jo Spivey; Scotty, Heather, and Ivy Jane Smith; Andrew and Kayla Jones; Kerri Arnold Lunsford; and Keith and Karren Arnold. Planning is already underway for the 2023 Benton County Fair, with dates to be announced soon. The Fair Board looks forward to bringing another great fair to Benton County next fall!
