Over 1,100 delegates representing the 76 county, district, and state fairs and associated businesses celebrated the New Year by attending the 88th annual Wisconsin Association of Fairs convention in Wisconsin Dells. The theme of this year’s convention was “Wisconsin Fairs Roundup.”

Representatives could attend a variety of high-impact workshops including keynote speaker, Gary Berg. His presentation was entitled “Simple Truths in the Workplace and in Life”. This presentation challenged all who listened to try to look at their lives more closely and with more focus and then challenge themselves to be better at what they do. Gary was described as the human reminder of those things in life that are important. Gary’s talk made people think and also laugh as they looked at everyday situations and tried to be the best they could be in both their work and personal lives. Other workshops included Media and the Mis-Informed Consumer, Animal Welfare, Finding the Right Size Entertainment, Background checks on employees, and much more.

The convention culminated with the crowning of the 2011 Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs,

Alexis Nickelotti from the Vernon County Fair at the Wednesday evening awards banquet. She will spend the next year serving as the ambassador for Wisconsin’s 76 county, district and state fairs and the official hostess for the 2011 Wisconsin State Fair, Aug. 4-14. While serving as Wisconsin’s Fairest of the Fairs, Alexis will make appearances, conduct promotions, work with media and travel to fairs to promote the educational, social and economical importance of Wisconsin’s Fair Industry.

Members of the Lincoln County 4-H Fair Board attended the Wisconsin Association of Fairs Convention from Jan. 9-12: Richard Stoeckmann, Dale Christiansen, Brad Becker, Mark Duley, Dave Buck, Sue Kunkel, and Janet Kluttermann from the local association were present.

Mark your summer entertainment calendar for July 20-24, 2011, the dates for the Lincoln County 4-H Fair.