Columbiana fair gets $300K gift for grandstand

Staff report

Lisbon

The Green Family Trust has donated $300,000 to the Columbiana County Fair for the grandstand-replacement project.

The grandstand, which will be ready for use this summer, will be named for the late Arnold C. Green, patriarch of the family.

Green would bring his grandson, John C. Green, now 45, to the summertime spectacle.

“It is with very fond memories of the fair and my grandfather that the trust makes a gift at this level,” said John Green. “My grandparents were tragically killed in an auto accident over 17 years ago, and this partnership with the fair will keep their name alive.”

Green was a lifelong resident of Columbiana County and executive engineering consultant for the Culligan Corp. He and his father, Charles, were among the first Culligan Water franchisees in Ohio.

“This is the largest gift that we know of in fair history, and we are incredibly grateful to the Green Family Trust,” said John Wolf, Columbiana County Fair Board president.

Robin Houlette, fair board director, said he is thrilled with the partnership, but added “the project continues to seek gifts from the community and we are hoping the momentum created from this gift will draw the community’s attention to the fact we still have a long way to go toward reaching the $900,000 budget cost.”

To donate or for information, call the fair office at 330-424-5531 or go to columbianacountyfair.org.

The board also announced this week that it has received a loan from First National Bank of Salem to allow the project to move forward while the funds are being pledged.

The old grandstand, which was beyond repair and becoming unsafe, was razed in December.

The new one will seat 2,500 spectators, which is 1,000 more than the old one. It will serve as the centerpiece for all activities at the nearly 170-year-old fair.

Construction will begin in March on the grandstand.

This Columbiana County Fair will run from July 28 through Aug. 3.