Local FFA chapters will soon have a place to call their own at the Meeker County Fairgrounds.
By August this year, visitors to the fairgrounds will be met with an 80- by 150-foot structure at the main entrance. The estimated $450,000 building will include restrooms, offices and plenty of space for FFA students to house their projects.
Anna Euerle, a tenth-grader with the Litchfield chapter, and Savannah Stafford, a tenth-grader for the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City chapter, expressed excitement about the future building.
“It’s awesome,” Stafford said.
“It’s a great promotional tool,” Euerle added. “I mean, it’s the first thing you’ll see when you walk into the fair.”
The girls also expressed optimism for future members of FFA to see what the organization can offer in the new building. The additional space will allow FFA members to take what they normally present in exhibit spaces of other buildings and to utilize their own designated space to show off projects. Due to a lack of space in barnyards for not only animals but crop projects as well, the Meeker County Fair Board sought out a way to give students the space necessary for their work.
Fair Board President Judy Barka said the process of figuring out all avenues to get to this point has been a work in progress. When FFA advisers approached the board seeking help about one year ago, Barka said the whole thing started coming together.
“We stewed on it and we proposed a lot of things,” Barka said. “It seems to be moving pretty fast once things fell into place.”
According to board member Joan Euerle, a lot of fundraising has and is still taking place to raise the additional funds needed to complete the project. While the building will allow FFA members to expand their horizons for additional space, Joan Euerle also said that updates to current facilities were crucial.
“My favorite part has been the progress,” Barka said about watching the project advance. “I’m looking forward to the expansion of exhibits and encouraging more students to join FFA. Students who need more space to do their projects will benefit from this, but for kids who don’t currently have access to proper spaces, this will be helpful.”
