It is the culmination of

year's worth of work, and it only lasts a week. But what a week it was! Due to the diligence and dedication of the Andalusia Kiwanis Club (and the blessing of wonderful weather) the Kiwanis Covington County Fair 2003 may well turn out to be the best one so far. By the middle of the week, concessions receipts were already higher than the total of last year's, and attendance has been breaking records left and right.

Few people realize just how much work goes into the fair, from the really big jobs, like organizing entertainment and finding judges, to the little details, like seeing the floor gets swept and the bathrooms cleaned. Not only do the Kiwanians put their every effort into the project, they enlist anyone who stands still long enough to get drafted - wives, husbands, children, friends, neighbors, peers… They, and Dwight Mikel and his staff, and anyone and everyone who had a hand in this year's fair deserve recognition for their hard work.

The 4-H students, scouts and other organizations who contributed booths to the fair contributed far more. They shared their interests and concerns and they showed a strong sense of community awareness and spirit. The animal owners, who brought their pets or livestock for the petting zoo also deserve praise - for many children, this is the closest they will ever get to potbelly pigs, llamas, or even Belgian draft horses. Fair Chairman Tony Wells said one of the fair's themes this year was a celebration of agriculture, but we think was more than that. It was the celebration of community.