“Very nervous,” he said when asked how it felt to show during a fair shortened by the coronavirus pandemic. “It was really different, a lot different just with all the stuff going. It’s just a lot more stressful, too, getting in and out, so you just try to do your best.”
And that is exactly what the 13-year-old from South Vienna did in claiming one of the headline awards at any fair, let alone this unique one.
“It was very different,” his mother, Michelle, said. “The same show was smashed together in a couple of days, but everything else was good. The quality of the cattle out there was amazing. He just worked his butt off, so I’m proud of him.”
Statewide shutdowns of many businesses and all Ohio schools meant kids had more time at home this spring and summer, something that was tough socially but worked out from a project standpoint for Max, who is a member of the Kountry Kids 4-H club and attends Northeastern schools.
“The kids had a lot of time to work out their calves,” Michelle Krempasky said. “They were home, and they had a lot of downtime. So it worked out in our favor.”
Max confirmed the extra time had a positive impact on his projects.
“I could work with him a lot more during the day and at night and I had nothing to do during the day so I went in and out and worked with him and tried my best,” he said. “The extra exercise helped a lot.”
On top of that, the win was emotional for the Krempasky family because Max survived an accident that nearly cost him his life five years ago.
“He rolled a (John Deer) Gator and he broke his neck,” Michelle said. “Five years ago, he wasn’t going to make it. He had the same injuries as (former ‘Superman’ actor) Christopher Reeve, so this on top of that win was huge.”
This year at the Clark County Fair, Hannah Weymouth showed the reserve champion while Courtney Hamilton showed the third-place project, Austin Sutherly came in fourth and Kendall Bishop was fifth.
Wednesday was the last scheduled day of the fair, but that did not signal the end of fair business.
This year all sales will be conducted online beginning Aug. 3.
How that impacts participation is a matter of anxiety for fair organizers and exhibitors for multiple reasons.
Clark County Fair sales going online this year https://t.co/aXo5jmZWb9
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) July 28, 2020
Not only is a virtual sale nontraditional, this is also the first time it has been tried in Clark County so there figures to be a learning curve.
Beyond that, Michelle Krempasky noted many potential buyers are facing economic issues as the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on small businesses throughout the area and beyond.
“We have a business ourself, and I understand money is tight,” she said. “There’s no way people can afford with not knowing day to day whether you’re going to be open or not. So that is going to impact us a lot, but I think we all kind of knew that going into this year.”
The grand champion steer typically would be a lucrative sale item, but Michelle Krempasky said there are more important things to worry about despite the significant investment many projects are in the first place.
“You definitely don’t get your money back,” she said. “This project is for the kid. The kids learn responsibility and things like that. It’s definitely not to make money off, and the kids learn so many things on multiple levels. There are so many good things 4-H teaches them about money and time management and talking to adults. So it’s stuff money can’t buy.”
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