Ark Valley News - Kechi Fair looking for fresh faces, new ideas

Kechi Fair looking for fresh faces, new ideas
By David Dinell
Last Updated: April 16, 2015

After 30 years of being an integral part of the Kechi Fair, chairperson Naomi Fultz is ready for a break. Along with an increase in funding, she made a plea at the April 9 meeting of the Kechi City Council for more help. This will probably be the last year for the fair, she said, unless there's more volunteer help.

"I hate to see it go away," she said. "I want someone who is younger and has a lot of new ideas."

Fultz was with the group when it was formed in 1985 as the Centennial Committee to start raising money for Kechi's 100th birthday, which was in 1988.

The organization then became the Kechi Fair Committee and put-on the annual fair, held in the last weekend of June. It also added more events, such as the Easter egg hunt, the Halloween open house, citywide garage sales, Christmas baskets, Santa Claus and seasonal flower barrels.

Along with Fultz, there are about a half dozen members who are still with the group after all these years. Time, though, is taking its toll.

"At my age, I don't think I'm going to do another year," said Fultz, who is in her early 80s and was Kechi's mayor from 1986 to 1993. Fultz said she didn't have anyone in mind to take the helm of the effort, but is open to everyone and anyone who wants to get involved.

For this year, the council did approve her request for $500 more in funding, increasing the group's money from the city from $2,500 to $3,000. Fultz said the change was necessary to handle across-the-board cost increases the group is dealing with.

No matter what happens to the committee in the future, Fultz said she's grateful to the city, its staff and all the work citizens have done.

"We couldn't do it without all of you," she said.