THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407290242
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Wes Alexander is nearly unflappable.
The Franklin-Southampton County Fair organizer is crisis-cool, unperturbed by problems that others see as portending disaster. After all, throwing a party for about 20,000 folks isn't exactly like planning a family picnic.
``You gotta be organized,'' said Alexander, rifling through stacks of pictures, searching unsuccessfully for the one he needed.
``And you've got to think about seven things at one time,'' he said while rummaging through his desk drawers at the Southampton County Extension Service, where he is an extension agent for agriculture and the unit director.
His job as fair president is a non-paying position that consumes great quantities of his nights and weekends. It's fun, Alexander said, or he wouldn't still be involved after 15 years - at least a dozen of them as the head honcho.
``You gotta like it,'' he said. ``It gives you self-satisfaction. There's little reward beyond that.''
About this time last summer, Alexander tried to call the company that was supposedly providing carnival rides for the midway, a big attraction for the little folks. Finally, he discovered the company had gone bankrupt.
``That's just what I needed two weeks before the fair,'' he said.
Some might have said, ``Sorry, kiddies, no rides,'' since there was no chance of finding a last-minute substitute. But Alexander just scrambled like a quarterback sidestepping would-be tacklers.
He spent two days on the phone, persuading carnival companies across two states to each send him a ride.
``We had a ride from here, a ride from there,'' he said.
He found a generator to power the rides, set up a uniform ticket structure and convinced someone to manage the midway.
More than once, entertainers have gotten lost, confusing the city of Franklin with the county by that name.
When they failed to show up before time for the show to go on, Alexander would quickly arrange for them to hop on a private plane and fly to the right Franklin. Someone would meet them at the municipal airport and escort them to the fairgrounds stage just in time.
Alexander's 400 or so volunteers also have an emergency plan for bad weather. The first few years, the remnants of a hurricane dumped heavy rains on the fair.
``It was a test of whether we could endure,'' he said. ``And we did.''
Alexander and a handful of others started planning a county fair in 1979 - a year after he came to Southampton from Michigan, by way of Virginia Beach.
``I don't see how you can have a good 4-H program in the county without a fair,'' he said.
The next year, Agri-Week '80 was held with $2,000 seed money from Union Camp Corp. The first fair was in 1981, and each year the festivities have grown, along with the budget, which now is about $75,000 for the week.
Throughout the year, the fair board also raises money, using part for permanent buildings available for public use. Now, some complain that the site no longer looks like a fairground.
``We do put up a tent every year just to add atmosphere,'' Alexander said.
And while he doesn't usually get too excited, last year's midway fiasco nearly caused him some heartburn.
``I guess that was as close to getting worried as I've been,'' he said. ``But that was two weeks. You can do a lot in two weeks.'' MEMO: The Franklin-Southampton County Fair will be held Aug. 17-23 at the
Southampton Agri-Civic Center in Courtland. Daily admission is $3.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Wes Alexander
County fair president
by CNB