Despite a severe thunderstorm and flooding, the 2022 Rhea County fair started a week long celebration of its 15th year. This year the theme of the fair is "Growing the Future; Honoring the Past." With the rain slowly coming down, the fair opened on schedule at 6 p.m.
“It wouldn’t be the start of the fair without a little rain,” said Rhea County Fair Executive Board President Don Massengale in his opening remarks. At the time, Rhea County was under a severe thunderstorm warning and a flash flood advisory by the National Weather Service.
After an opening prayer and the national anthem, a memorial to the four starters of the current county fair was unveiled. It honors George Beaty, Jim Hall, Glen Varner and Harold Fisher.
Board Secretary Brittany Fisher-Dean said, “These four men stood on this ground with only the one red barn behind us and they envisioned what you see and so much more. What they built was not handed to them in county funding. Having faith in their vision, people just started handing them donations. Standing on these grounds, you can feel the love that they had for their community and building for the next generation.”
She added that the stretch of oak trees that lined the roadway from the center of the fairgrounds to Eagle lane was hand planted by the four men, “knowing that they would not reap the shade that these would provide, but for our generation as we grow.”
Of the four founders, three still remain, with Harold Fisher passing away in 2021.
In his opening prayer, Pastor Paul Forgey of the Wolf Creek Baptist Church said that "we thank God for these four men, who remind me of what Jesus said, 'It is better to give than receive. And be servants of God by being servants of other people.' They have set a great example for other people.”
Pastor Forgey continued by saying "when a few men get together with a great passion for making things better for others, great things happen.”
Mrs. Fisher-Dean said that the light on the monument will always shine, highlighting the four men.