Bidding the boss a fond fair-well

Mike Orton can hardly believe that more than four decades have passed since he first started working at the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds.

“I don’t know where the time has gone,” said Orton, who landed the job of fair manager in 1987 after starting on the grounds crew in 1980. “But that’s how life is. I’m sure it will hit me more once I leave here full time and I’m at home and something’s missing.”

Vanessa Schneider will officially replace Orton in March after receiving the unanimous support of the fair board. Schneider was most recently the livestock program manager for the Alameda County Fair in California and a contractor with other California fairs. But Orton won’t become a ghost at the fairgrounds, having agreed to a board request to stay on part time for the rest of the year to help Schneider make a smooth transition.

When Orton started at the fairgrounds, he was a regular crew member, helping keep the grounds in shape, setting up events and performing various maintenance tasks. After a few years, he had risen to become maintenance foreman.

Then on July 14, 1987, an opportunity arose out of a minor local scandal. That night, the fair board unanimously voted to fire the fair manager, Craig Jones, after accusations that he accepted improper payments from former Nez Perce County Commissioner Paul L.C. Snider. The payments allegedly involved the lease of the fairgrounds pavilion for Snider’s annual antique show.

Orton seized his chance, sending a letter to the board arguing he was the right person to succeed Jones. Board members subsequently appointed Orton as acting manager, then officially gave him the job later that year.

He’s overseen significant growth at the fairgrounds in the years since, including the recent acquisition of adjoining land from the Lewiston School District that will give the landlocked fairgrounds some breathing room. In addition to working part time for the remainder of the year, the board appointed Orton to the committee that will make recommendations on the long-term development of that acquisition, and the rest of the fairgrounds.

And Orton said that suits him fine, since he’s retiring before completing some of his goals.

“I’ve got a lot of years put in here, and there’s a lot of projects and growth spurts that we haven’t been able to accomplish yet,” he said. “Because the fair has grown so much — we only have 25 acres here including all the parking — it doesn’t give us a lot of room to expand. We need to rethink how we move forward with the growth.”

The 4-H program is one of the biggest causes of the growing pains, and Orton said the fairgrounds needs additional buildings to accommodate all the livestock. The coronavirus pandemic has complicated the issue because so much of the revenue to pay for those projects has been lost because of canceled events, including the majority of last year’s fair.

“That was a hard hit,” he said. “But we’re hoping things will be a little bit brighter as we go forward on the calendar this year. We’ve got some events coming up in March that are looking like they will be able to go forward, so that’s promising.”

With the skimpy financial picture in mind, Orton said his greatest accomplishment as fair manager has been keeping operation efficient by treating its budget as he would his own. But he qualified that by adding that his financial stewardship would not have been possible without the help of a hard-working staff, many of whom have been around almost as long as he has. He also hailed the good relationships he’s had with fair board members over the years.

“I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said. “I can’t take credit for all that.”

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.

If You Go

What: Open house to celebrate the 34-year career of Nez Perce County Fair Manager Mike Orton.

When: 2-6 p.m. Thursday

Where: Nez Perce County Fairgrounds pavilion, 1229 Burrell Ave., Lewiston. (Current Idaho COVID-19 protocols will be in place.)