4-H agents face increasing demands to support traditional 4-H programs while adding new programming for new audiences. Without increased funding to hire additional staff, it becomes essential to streamline the facilitation of activities. To address this situation, the Union County 4-H program implemented fair management software to create efficiencies in the facilitation of the 4-H county fair and regional livestock show. The new software has reduced staff labor by over 60%, reduced pre-show preparation by 34%, and improved problem solving and increased accuracy

Smith, Carole A

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Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 47 Number 5 Article 28 10-1-2009 De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work! Carole A. Smith Oregon State University, carole.smith@oregonstate.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Smith, C. A. (2009). De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work!. The Journal of Extension, 47(5), Article 28. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol47/iss5/28 This Tools of the Trade is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. October 2009Volume 47 Number 5Article Number 5TOT5Return to Current IssueDe-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Dothe Work!Carole A. Smith4-H Youth Development AgentOregon State UniversityLa Grande, Oregoncarole.smith@oregonstate.eduAbstract: 4-H agents face increasing demands to support traditional 4-H programs while adding newprogramming for new audiences. Without increased funding to hire additional staff, it becomes essential tostreamline the facilitation of activities. To address this situation, the Union County 4-H programimplemented fair management software to create efficiencies in the facilitation of the 4-H county fair andregional livestock show. The new software has reduced staff labor by over 60%, reduced pre-showpreparation by 34%, and improved problem solving and increased accuracy.IntroductionExtension offices everywhere face similar challenges in providing the same (or increased) level of serviceswithout having an increase in staff resources. Clientele typically expect traditional programming to besupported despite the increasing demands on staff time. County fair is a traditional event that has beensupported by Extension since the early 1900s (Diem & Rothenburger, 2001). 4-H agents are typically stillexpected to manage the local 4-H county fair and livestock shows in addition to adding new programopportunities to meet new audiences.The county fair experience is an important part of 4-H youth development. It provides a way for youth toshowcase their project work, receive recognition for their efforts, and develop leadership and teamwork skills(Diem & Rothenburger, 2001). A study conducted on the positive youth development outcomes from youthparticipation in the county fair (Arnold, Meinhold, Skubinna, & Ashton, 2007) supports the need for 4-Hagents to continue providing the 4-H fair experience as part of their programming. So how do 4-H agentsmeet these demands? The 4-H agent in Union County, Oregon, accepted this challenge as an opportunity toutilize technology to streamline and create efficiencies in a traditional program—the county fair.BackgroundIn Union County, Oregon, the 4-H agent is responsible for two livestock shows in a 6-week span. The first isthe Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, a 6-day show drawing approximately 680 4-H and FFA exhibitors fromthroughout the state. The show includes a horse and livestock show, junior market auction, conformationjudging contests and presentations. The second show is the county fair, which averages 325 exhibitors andencompasses traditional exhibits as well as a junior market auction.De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work! 10/26/09 08:10:351/3The 4-H agent and program assistant plan and facilitate all 4-H activities for both shows as well as providethe clerical support for market animal weigh in and junior auction for both 4-H and FFA exhibitors. The 4-Hoffice serves as the central point for preparing show materials, collecting entries, producing clerk sheets andexhibitor lists, entering class results, and tallying points for awards. Staff also produces the auction sale orderof market animals. This consists of blending all market class placings from separate shows (4-H and FFA)into a combined auction sale order that ranks the best quality animals at the top of the sale list.In 2002 the 4-H agent made the decision to find computer software that could help automate the paperworkrequired for the shows. The number of hours for paid staff time, as well as the level of stress involved, hadbecome unmanageable. A variety of software programs were tested. The process was not always smooth, or atime saver, but perseverance paid off and today Union County has an automated system that works great.Software ImplementationThe software package selected was ShoWorks, comprehensive fair management software. It provides thelevel of programming needed to support livestock shows, junior auctions, special contests, and static exhibitstypically entered at county fair. Today, through use of this software, facilitation of these events has becomemanageable and even fun. It has also allowed staff to implement new procedures that ensure more accuracy,as well as outsourcing to volunteers some of the more laborious tasks such as exhibitor registration.With ShoWorks, 4-H leaders, FFA Advisors, and out-of-county agents can input entries through the UnionCounty 4-H Web site. The exhibitor database transfers forward each year so names and addresses only haveto be updated for changes, a task completed by those making entries. Exhibitors can receive a printout oftheir classes on show day, which allows for any last-minute changes. Up-to-date clerk sheets can be printedat the show, easing the anxiety of parents, exhibitors, and superintendents. Show results are now entered asclasses are completed, and the auction sale order is created and printed within hours of the final market class.This allows potential buyers to have the sale list a full day prior to the auction.Contrary to pre-automation days, 4-H staff members are now working 10-12 hour days at the show versus16-18 hours. Additionally, the time spent pre- and post-show has been greatly reduced. Exhibitor points forselecting all-around awards can easily be tallied and printed for award programs, instead of franticallyflipping through clerk sheets and adding scores by hand. The final results of the show can be emailed tomedia immediately following the last day of the show. Staff now have all results entered daily throughout theshow, eliminating after-show entry of results.An additional advantage is cost savings. Entry forms, premium books, and instruction letters are now postedon the county 4-H Web site, thus cutting costs in paper, printing and mailing.ShoWorks 2006 advertises that it is the largest and most widely used fair management software for thedesktop. It also supports online entries with over 10 years of proven dependability. The software is MicrosoftAccess based, so it allows for customization of all reports and queries, as well as building reports and formsfrom scratch. This feature was important for the Union County volunteers, who were accustomed to theformat of traditional clerk sheets and reports. A feature called "quick entries" provides staff with theflexibility to sort class placings in a variety of ways to allow for rapid entry of results. More detailedinformation about the software can be found at <http://www.fairsoftware.com/>.ConclusionThrough 7 years of testing, the Union County 4-H Extension Program has proven that using technology toDe-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work! 10/26/09 08:10:352/3automate the livestock show and county fair works. By using ShoWorks, we have:Reduced staff labor by over 60%,• Improved problem-solving abilities,• Increased accuracy,• Reduced pre-show preparation by 34%,• Eliminated post-show data entry, and• Empowered others to input entries and update databases.• Automating the county fair by using fair management software programs can make this event manageableand less stressful for all involved. These efficiencies will free up time for 4-H agents to focus their energy ondeveloping new educational experiences for youth.ReferencesArnold, M. E., Meinhold, J. L., Skubinna, T., & Ashton, C. (2007). The motivation for and developmentalbenefits of youth participation in county 4-H fairs: a pilot study. Journal of Extension [On-line], 45(6) Article6RIB5. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2007december/rb5.phpDiem, K. G., & Rothenburger, L. (2001). The county fair—What has it done for you lately? Journal ofExtension [On-line], 39(4) Article 4IAW1. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2001august/iw1.phpCopyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become theproperty of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use ineducational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematiclarge-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal EditorialOffice, joe-ed@joe.org.If you have difficulties viewing or printing this page, please contact JOE Technical Support.De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work! 10/26/09 08:10:353/3

De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work!

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De-Stress Your County Fair—Let Technology Do the Work!

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