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Fair days are coming
Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair starts Oct. 12
W Kiwanis FAIR RIDES 03
Autumn Siple, rigtht, fights G-forces on the Pharaoh's Fury and stays on her mobile phone during the 2008 the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair. - photo by SCOTT BRYANT/file
    It’s only about six weeks away. The 48th Annual Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair, that is.
    The Fair opens Oct. 12, and citizens from all over the region will flock to Statesboro to enjoy thrill rides, entertainment, lots of exhibits and "fair food."
    The Statesboro Kiwanis Club hosts the annual agricultural fair each year as its sole fund raiser, taking in proceeds that are filtered back into the community through donations to charities, causes and other civic endeavors.
    Also each year, about two months before the fair opens, the "Fair Book" is published. Containing schedules, rules for competition and a contact list of Kiwanis Club members responsible for various aspects of the fair, the "Fair Book is a handy guide for the much-awaited annual event.
    It is also dedicated each year to a club member who has demonstrated exemplary dedication and leadership. The 2009 Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair Book was dedicated recently to long-time club member Alton Odum.
    Cliff Holt, Kiwanis Club member in charge of publicity, said "Each year the fair book is dedicated to a Statesboro Kiwanis Club member who has demonstrated exceptional service to the club and the community not only in the past year, but during their membership tenure."
     Odum, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who commanded a mobilized infantry unit, "is an outstanding Kiwanian and community volunteer," Holt said. "He has been a member of the Kiwanis Club since 1983, and has had over 17 years of perfect attendance."
    Odum served as club president in 1987-1988, and was selected as Kiwanian of the Year in 1991. He has held many positions of club leadership and served as chairman of several committees. Odum was a founder of the Bulloch County Food Bank and is still active in that organization
  "Mr. Odum has been a dedicated community volunteer, serving many years with the Red Cross and the United Way," Holt said.  His "untiring efforts during fair week, working in several different locations and positions, is well known and appreciated by the club."
     Page 2 of the Fair Book includes Odum's biography, as well as his photograph. Fair Chairman Darrell Colson presented Odum with a framed copy of the Fair Book's front cover and the dedication page during a recent Kiwanis Club meeting.
    The Fair kicks off, as always, with a parade Monday, Oct. 12, through downtown Statesboro. The parade begins at 5 p.m. on North Main Street at East Olliff Street, and will include floats, bands, dignitaries, classic cars and tractors, horses and more.
    For more information about the parade, including information about applications for participation, contact Charles Sheets at (912) 587-9232. Applications and rules for the parade as well as other fair competitions are found in the Fair Book, available at various area businesses.
    The fairgrounds open afterward at 6 p.m., but there will be a change from tradition. In the past, admission was free on the first night. This year, admission will be either a canned good, staple food or $1. Proceeds will go to the Statesboro/Bulloch County Food Bank.
    Tuesday, Oct. 13, Thursday, Oct. 15 and Saturday, Oct. 17 will be "wrist stamp" days, where stamps enable bearers to unlimited rides. Stamps will be $18 Tuesday and Thursday, and $20 on Saturday, when the fairgrounds open earlier.
    Wrist stamps will also be available Friday, Oct. 16, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. only, for $15, during the "Midnight Madness" event.

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