Mike Kalkwarf presented with County Fair Volunteer of the Year Award

Shortly before the ending auction and greased pig contest for the 2024 Hancock County District Fair on Sunday, July 28, the county fair committee presented their Volunteer of the Year award to Garner resident Mike Kalkwarf. The award is given out every year to commemorate the volunteer fairgrounds worker that the committee valued the most throughout the year.

            Kalkwarf has spent thirty years working with the fair committee, even after his retirement. He primarily works with garbage disposal to keep the fairgrounds clean both during the fair and after it's over. In the thirty years he’s worked, he’s also taken on many other tasks. Some of these tasks include being the MC for the Kids Rodeo and Bacon Buddies and being a runner for the special concert groups, among other minor things.

            Kalkwarf believes that the best part about the fair is getting to meet new faces and catch up with old ones between events. He has a deep love for his community and treasures the fair as a way to bring people together for a week. He works as a volunteer not for the recognition, but for the betterment of the fair as a whole. “I don’t have one of those red shirts like the committee does, but I know I can help out in any way I can, and I do.”