Did you know that Michigan has more than 85 fairs? That is a lot of chances to stop and enjoy an elephant ear! For GreenStone, it is a great way stop in and support our future generations of community leaders! Here’s just a few examples…
Starting in our Alpena branch contributes to their local county fairs: Alpena, Montmorency, Alcona, and Cheboygan. They not only attend the youth livestock auctions to donate to the kids’ 4-H projects, but also show their support to the kids by sponsoring trophies and handing out goodies.
Heading to southern Michigan, our Adrian branch contributes to the Lenawee County Fair by donating to kids in the auction, staffing food vendors and volunteering auction support. Janet Brugger, tax and accounting assistant in Adrian, invests over 100 hours each year at the fair auctions, sending out invoices and collecting payments. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights you can find Brugger sitting at the auction table recording sales.
“I work very closely with the 4H office with different issues, but I mostly handle all the invoices and collecting the payments. This year I printed out 496 pages of invoices!” Brugger says in appreciation for the community support of the youth.
Brugger has been involved with the fair her whole life, she grew up creating projects to compete with, eventually got her children involved, became a 4-H co-leader, and now she contributes at the auction. Brugger shows her passion through her time volunteering, and encourages kids in the community to get involved; “I encourage my co-workers that have younger kids by telling them ‘you’ve got to get them into 4-H!’”
Now looking in the thumb region at our Bay City office, they contribute to seven county fairs in their area! Financial services officers and additional support staff attend the fair auctions to donate to local kids 4-H projects. To encourage the kids that place well in competition, the branch sponsors different trophies. You can also find the branch sponsoring the fair breakfast!
Across the bridge to the Upper Peninsula, our Escanaba branch participates in the UP State fair! This branch contributes different trophies for various livestock shows and helps conduct the interviewing and judging of the record books. You can also find GreenStone staff like, Amber Hanson, financial services officer, and Amanda Smith, customer service representative, walking around the fairgrounds and passing out goodies to kids that are going above and beyond.
“There was one little girl that was working really hard with her animal, so we gave her a shirt and a small gift card. Afterwards her mom came up to us and gave us a hug,” Amber Hanson, financial services officer, says with a smile, “The mom said, ‘This is so sweet. She didn’t win anything this week and she was just so excited that she got this!’”
Hanson has helped out in multiple different ways with the fair. She is a current 4-H leader, and she helped judge the record books as well, “4-H teaches these kids to have accountability to themselves, to their club, and to their animals.” Hanson says, “It is super fun to listen to these kids and their stories.”
Lastly, heading back down to the southwest side of the state to our Allegan Branch, they participate in multiple county fairs in their area. The branch supports both the Allegan County and Barry County fairs, from supporting the youth through the auctions to sponsoring different events. They encourage each kid to work hard and get involved with the community!
GreenStone is proud to partner with fairs all across Michigan and encourage you to get out to one next year to not only enjoy an elephant ear, but to learn and support our future youth leaders! Learn more about our community outreach and engagement efforts by visitingour Outreach page here!
