New to the job, but not the work

Vanessa Schneider is so fresh on the job that she doesn’t even have a nameplate on her desk or business cards to share.

But the new manager of the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds said she has already felt the warm embrace of a community that was completely foreign to her just a few months ago. And one of her biggest boosters is her predecessor, Mike Orton, who retired in February after four decades at the fairgrounds.

“He’s introduced me to the community and our sponsors,” Schneider, 44, said recently amid an RV show and sale at the fairgrounds. “Especially being a newcomer, it really helps me feel comfortable to have him there.”

The fair board elected to keep Orton on the payroll part time for the rest of the year so he could help ease Schneider’s transition into the job. But even though she is happy to have that guidance, Schneider’s years of experience with 4-H and livestock programs should already give her a head start on running the county’s annual agricultural exposition.

“We’re still five months out, so I know a lot can change,” Schneider said of trying to bring the full fair back later this summer after COVID-19 led to its cancellation last year, save for the 4-H component. “But we’ll be working with the health department as we get closer. We’re already holding several successful events.”

Schneider said she’s paying close attention to the return of the Asotin County Fair this week after it was also scotched last year because of the pandemic. She plans on attending the fair, and speaking afterward with its organizers to learn what worked and what didn’t.

The California native got most of her experience with 4-H and livestock shows while growing up and going to college in the Golden State. She raised and showed market and breeding rabbits with her local 4-H club in Manteca, Calif., south of Sacramento in the state’s famously agricultural Central Valley. Eventually Schneider became a 4-H All Star, traveling around the country to various conventions. She took on more prominent leadership roles, including the presidency of the Glenn County 4-H Council while a student at Chico State University.

The school even had a fair management class that gave her a good foundation in things like budgeting and running a fairgrounds both during a fair and during the rest of the year, when such venues rely on other events for revenue.

“It was a great overview that helped light the fire,” she said. “I think I just caught the fair bug. It’s what you do.”

She landed her first job in 1995 at the Alameda County Fair as a rabbit show clerk. She eventually rose to become livestock superintendent. “It was a fun summer job,” she said. “I didn’t think it would become a career.”

After several years and several jobs at various fairs, she became the stock show manager at the Bay Area’s famous Cow Palace. Then in 2008, she left her home state for the Midwest and a new home in northwest Indiana, but still continued to contract with the Cow Palace until 2017.

After landed the Lewiston job, Schneider moved out West with her 13-year-old daughter, Julia Sumahit, and her 89-year-old grandmother, Alice Russell. They are renting a place in Clarkston until they can find a home to buy, but Schneider said she’s excited to get to know the area and make it into her home. In fact, Julia has already joined a local 4-H club and will be doing — what else — a rabbit project for this year’s fair.

The fairgrounds took a huge financial hit last year because of all the canceled events during the pandemic. But Schneider said this year is looking much better, with the venue already booked through June, from dog shows to dart tournaments. She’s even getting calls about booking events for next year.

Some organizations that haven’t used the fairgrounds before are giving the venue a look since the large indoor space at the pavilion allows for ample physical distancing, something local public health officials look for when approving events, Schneider added.

“I think people are just happy to have events to go to, and to meet with people again.”

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.