TOPPENISH — The Toppenish Rodeo Grounds may soon have a new group of friends and supporters, with the formation of the Toppenish Fair Association.
Association board president Barb Moses said May 4 that the organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that can help get the grounds back on the road to fiscal stability.
She said the Fair Association’s first priority is to generate the funds needed to complete the community center building on the rodeo grounds.
She said about $100,000 must be raised from private sources to augment a loan package that will provide the $285,000 required.
“We (the fair association) can generate the funding to finish the building,” Moses said.
The fair association can apply for grants and can also accept private trust donations, according to Moses.
The rodeo association is a 501(c)(4) corporation, and does not have that capability, she said, because funds donated to it are not tax-deductible.
She said the completed building will be “a true asset to the community,” providing space for school events, 4-H extension, educational fairs, and any number of other activities.
Activities held there will also help to serve as a draw for visitors to Toppenish, she said.   
The fair board is currently made up of rodeo association board members, but that was just “to get the ball rolling,” Moses said.
She stressed that the members of the current five-member fair board took the position with the understanding that their tenure there would be short.
“We’re looking for community members to be on the board,” Moses said. “We don’t want to mirror the rodeo board.”
Ultimately the fair board will have nine members, Moses said.
She said she is especially interested in finding potential board members who have a background in grant writing.
Moses suggested that board members from the Junior Rodeo and the Central Washington Junior Livestock Show would be good candidates for the new fair board.
In addition to the fair association board members, rank and file
association membership is also being encouraged.
Moses said the fair board had been discussing an annual membership fee of perhaps $20, but that decision had not been made yet.
Members of the fair board in addition to Moses are now Richard Halvorson, vice president, John Hunsaker, treasurer, Christi Hayes, secretary, and Curtis Parrish.
Moses said anyone may join the association. She said anyone interested in becoming a fair board member should come to its next regular meeting, or call her at 509-949-5957, or email her at barbmoses@mac.com.
The rodeo association still owns the grounds, Moses said, and will make all the decisions about the rodeo, as they always have.
Though there won’t be a regular three-day rodeo event this Fourth of July, Moses said the rodeo board is working to find the corporate sponsorship that would allow a one-day event to be produced by the Dan Beard Rodeo Company.
She said the final decision about whether or not that one-day event would take place would be made by mid-month.