GREENFIELD — A Tractor Supply Company’s fair-focused tour is making its way around the country, and this week made a pit stop in Hancock County.
The company’s “Follow Us to the Fair” tour is in the beginning stages of its fourth-annual, 11,000-mile trek across the country, visiting more than two dozen state and county fairs. This year, its only stop in Indiana is at the Hancock County 4-H Fair in Greenfield.
Tucked in the northeast corner of the fairgrounds, the display is a mashup of games, raffles and contests for fair-goers of all ages. It’ll remain there until the close of the fair today.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryAnd before they pack up and head out to their next destination, representatives from Tractor Supply will recognize four local 4-H’ers as winners of a statewide essay contest in which they were asked to reflect on their time in the program.
Each student received a commemorative plaque and other prizes on Thursday during the 4-H scholarship ceremony.
The company is making 24 stops in 14 states throughout the Midwest over the next six months, said tour manager Shane Bockey. The tour started in Kentucky in early June and will end in Nevada in November, he said.
Tractor Supply chooses to visit communities where their stores have historically had longstanding and positive relationships with customers in the hope that those connections will continue to grow, Bockey said.
It also gives the company a chance to recognize youngsters with a passion for agriculture, he said.
Four Hancock County students were among more than 100 4-H’ers and FFA youth across the country recognized for their participation in the company’s annual essay contest.
This year, students were asked to share one memorable 4-H or FFA experience and explain how that experience influenced their development, noting specifically how it’s made them a “great neighbor,” according to a news release. The contest was open ahead of the fair to any 4-H’er or FFA member in Central Indiana.
The local students acknowledged were Maggie Bova of Charlottesville, Caitlin Cox of Carthage, Lainie Lawrence of Greenfield and Jordyn Wickard of Greenfield. Grace Hasler of Columbus was also recognized.
Each will receive a Tractor Supply gift pack, including $50 gift cards to the Greenfield store.
The essay contest is a great way for the company to celebrate the difference 4-H and FFA participants make in their communities, Christi Korzekwa, senior vice president of marketing at Tractor Supply Company said in a news release.
“Fairs have a longstanding tradition of bringing people of all ages together to celebrate the local community and the key role that agriculture plays within it,” Korzekwa said. “The ‘Follow Us to the Fair’ tour seeks to preserve this tradition while adding family fun to the experience. The ‘Great Neighbor’ essay contest also lets us recognize the incredible work 4-H and FFA youth are doing in their communities.”