Morgan County Fair Board member Bill Rumbaugh says the use of the proceeds from food vendors at the fair may be unique in the state.

“It comes back to the community,” Rumbaugh said. “Everybody here is required to do something for the community. ...

“That’s pretty unique. To my knowledge, no other fair does this.”

Rumbaugh has attended meetings with other county fair representatives who’ve left him with the impression that no other county fair sends its money back to the community like the Morgan County Fair, he said.

The fair could take in anywhere from $350,000 to $500,000 this year, Rumbaugh said. The operating budget for the fair is approximately $400,000.

For the Lambda Theta chapter of Delta Theta, the fair is the sorority’s only money-making event of the year, providing approximately $13,000 in profits, said member Connie Feagans.

That money goes back to the community including use for scholarships, the Red Barn food bank, Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, emergency dental care for children, Martinsville’s annual Independence Day fireworks show and city park pool fund.

Other food vendors also use their proceeds to help support scholarship funds, Rumbaugh said.

And the fair uses its money to hire local workers, including Morgan County EMS for emergencies, off-duty police for security, local church members to take tickets at the gate and the Noon Lions Club at the grandstand. Local 4-H members have exclusive rights to sell food in the grandstand.

Rumbaugh said, “It’s a very unique situation.”