Medina County Agricultural Society Director Handbook The mission statement for the Medina County Agricultural Society is Provide a center of activity for the preservation and promotion of agriculture through enhancement and management of our fair grounds Revised 12/2011
Medina County Agricultural Society Board of Directors Handbook The goal of this handbook is to provide assistance and direction to all Directors and Officials. ADDRESSES Fair Office: 710 W. Smith Rd, Medina, OH 44256 Community Center: 735 Lafayette Rd, Medina, OH 44256 PHONE NUMBERS Office: 330-723-9633 Fax: 330-723-9632 Community Center: 330-722-9636 Community Center Fax: 330-764-8640 Event Promoter: 330-606-3371 Ground s Supervisor: (not for public release) Office Private Line: (not for public release) E-MAIL medinafair@gmail.com WEB ADDRESS www.medina-fair.com MEETING DATES Executive Committee: 1 st Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM Board of Directors: 2 nd Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM TOPIC A. Directors B. Officials C. General D. Golf Carts E. Purchasing F. Committees G. Important Dates H. Fairgrounds Map 1
A. Director Directors are elected members to the controlling board of the Medina County Agricultural Society, with voting privileges at monthly board meetings. Directors are paid for each full board meeting attended. The board will set the rate, not to exceed $30 per meeting, with a maximum of twelve paid meetings per year. Directors serving on the board more than ten years will receive a lifetime admission pass for the Medina County Fair, upon retirement. Directors serving one through nine years will receive one year s admission pass to the fair for each year served. Duties of a Director 1. Attend all full board meetings. You should let the secretary know if you are unable to attend the board meeting. Missing any three regular board meetings in a fiscal year may result in removal from the board. 2. Attend the yearly budget meeting. 3. Volunteer to chair at least one committee and serve on at least three committees. 4. Attend noon meetings the week of the fair, if possible. Noon meetings are for Directors and Officials only. This is a business lunch meeting. 5. Wear official shirts, hats and name badges the week of the fair. 6. Invited to attend all committee meetings. 7. Encouraged to help with clean up after the fair if possible. 8. Assist in other areas if needed i.e. parking on busy nights, monitoring grandstand seating, chair set-up and tear down. 9. Answer questions or refer people to the proper committee. If you do not know the answer, please, do not cause confusion by giving an answer about a committee upon which you do not serve. Talk to the committee chairperson first, when issues arise. 10. A board member may be removed from the fair board for cause by an 80% vote of the board members attending at the regular meeting. B. Officials Officials are spouses and/or the designated individual of a director. Duties of Officials 1. Have voting privileges on any committees upon which they serve. 2. Are welcome and encouraged to attend any board function except executive sessions. 3. Are asked to volunteer for three committees and may serve as chairperson of a committee. C. General Procedures for Medina County Fair 1. Elected and appointed Directors shall be sworn in the first regular board meeting following their election or appointment. 2. It is the policy of the Medina County Agricultural Society to provide equal employment opportunity in full compliance with all applicable laws. 3. Sexual harassment or harassment of any kind is strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated by the Medina County Agricultural Society. 4. Directors will receive a current copy of the State Red Book by which fairs are operated. Receipt of this book should be documented each year with a signature. 5. Directors and Officials are provided with two official shirts the year they are elected or reelected to the board. 2
6. Appointed Directors and Officials receive two shirts. 7. Directors and Officials may request a personal key to the main restroom. 8. All Directors and Officials receive a new Medina County Fair hat at the start of each fair. 9. All Directors will receive fourteen admissions (as strips or wristbands) for each year s fair, upon request. 10. Each director and Official will receive a name badge. 11. Directors wishing to purchase tickets to big name entertainment can do one of two things: a. Stand in line with everyone else. b. Put your name with number of tickets and location desired in an envelope for a lottery drawing. Directors working sales will have priority over non-working Directors. 12. Fair week committee chairpersons will receive fourteen single gate admissions upon request, to be distributed to helpers and volunteers at their discretion. Multi-committee chairpersons will receive a maximum of 28 tickets, by full board approval, at the first full board meeting in July. Admission requests must be turned in by the July executive meeting. Requests for grandstand or more admission tickets must be done on the ticket request form. Requester must be present at the meeting to justify the request. Unused tickets should be returned for audit procedures. 13. Directors and Officials should not approach concessionaires or ride company or operators for individual passes or products. 14. Radios will be provided to Directors, selected committee chairpersons and fair employees during fair week. 15. Requests for work to be done by the grounds personnel are to be turned in on the request form at the secretary s office. 16. Directors and Officials are to park in designated director parking areas. 17. There is a Directors campground available for your use. It is located on the east side of the race track with access from both Smith Rd. gate #1 and U.S. 42 gate #H-3. 18. There is a state fair manager s convention in Columbus during January of each year. Directors and Officials are encouraged to attend. 19. The Medina County Agricultural Society does not take sides in political campaigns. 20. The official spokesperson of the fair is the President. The President must sign all contracts. D. Golf Carts 1. Golf carts are provided to Directors and Officials during fair week, upon request. 2. Please walk whenever possible. Avoid going up the midway with golf carts. 3. See attached map for golf cart routes. 4. Carts should not be driven by anyone other than the assigned driver. No one under eighteen should drive these carts for liability reasons. E. Purchases. 1. Try to obtain a donation or the best price before buying. 2. All purchases must be approved by the committee in charge of that area. A purchase order must be obtained from the secretary before the purchase is made. 3. Official address for the billing and shipping is 710 W. Smith Rd, Medina, OH 44256. 4. Bills or invoices should be submitted to the secretary as soon as possible, but no later than the Friday before each month s regular board meeting. If not turned in within two months of purchase, you will not be reimbursed. 3
5. Purchased items are the property of the Medina County Agricultural Society and should remain on the grounds. 6. If Directors or Officials purchase items from the board and do not pay for the purchase within two months, it will be announced at the next full board meeting for further action. 7. If Directors or Officials purchase something for the fair and do not obtain a purchase order to use our tax-exempt status, the director or official will be responsible for paying the sales tax on purchases greater than $25. 8. See Purchasing Policy on pages 5-6. F. Committees Directors and Officials are appointed to their committees by a selection committee appointed by the President. Duties of the Chairperson 1. Chairpersons must be a member of the Medina County Agricultural Society. 2. Conduct committee meetings with minutes to be filed in the secretary s office. 3. Submit an itemized budget. 4. Submit ribbon and trophy orders to secretary before deadlines. 5. Locate judges and give mailing address, phone number and fee to the secretary s office to secure a contract. The deadline for this is the May board meeting. 6. Check over and turn in premium book information by deadlines. 7. Requests checks or cash, including date required, from the treasurer prior to fair week (minimum of two days notice). 8. Request tables and chairs, etc. from the grounds personnel on the proper forms at the secretary s office. 9. Request sound on proper forms obtained at the secretary s office. 10. Answer questions about the department as they arise. Duties of Committees 1. Determine rules and procedures for the department and supply this information for the premium book. The deadline for this information is the February board meeting. 2. Locate sponsors and give mailing address, phone number and fee to the secretary s office to secure a contract. The deadline for all sponsors and scheduling information is the March board meeting. 3. Assist with judging and record keeping of the department. 4. Have ribbons and trophies ready for show day. 5. Help with set-up and tear down of department area. 6. Help with check in and check out of exhibitor items. G. Important Dates Fair Directors are elected Friday of fair week. President and Vice President are elected at the September fair board meeting. Budget deadline will be set by the full board. The secretary and treasurer are elected at the November fair board meeting. Ribbon and trophy orders are due at the secretary s office by the December fair board meeting. The annual meeting of the Society is the second Wednesday of December at 7 PM. 4
The Ohio Fair Managers Association convention is held in January at the convention center in Columbus. POLICIES Conflict of Interest Whenever a Director of Officer has a financial or personal interest in any matter coming before the Board of Directors, the affected person shall A. Fully disclose the nature of the interest and B. Withdraw from discussion, lobbying and voting on the matter. Any transaction or vote involving a potential conflict of interest shall be approved only when a majority of disinterested Directors determine that it is in the best interest of the Society to do so. The minutes of meetings at which such votes are taken shall record such disclosure, abstention and rational for approval. Whistle Blower (Employee Protection) If any employee reasonable believes that some policy, practice or activity of the Medina County Agricultural society, d.b.a. MCF, to adhere to all laws and regulations that apply to the organization and the underlying purpose of this policy is to support the organization s goal of legal compliance. The support of all employees is necessary to achieving compliance with various laws and regulations. An employee is protected from retaliation only if the employee brings the alleged unlawful activity, policy, or practice to the attention of the MCF and provides the MCF a reasonable opportunity to investigate and correct the alleged unlawful activity. The protection described below is only available the employees that comply with this requirement. MCF will not retaliate against an employee who is good faith, has made a protestor raised a complaint against some practice of MCF, proof another individual or entity with whom the MCF has a business relationship, on the basis of a reasonable belief that the practice is in violation of law, or a clear mandate of public policy. MCF will not retaliate against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose to a supervisor of a public body, any activity, policy, or practice of the MCF that the employee reasonable believes is in violation of a law, or a rule, or regulation mandated pursuant to law or is in violation of a clear mandate of public policy concerning the health, safety, welfare or protection of the environment. (Employee signature and date must be on actual form submitted to MCF.) Process for Purchases (approved 11/9/2011) Purchases should be made according to the following dollar amounts and requirements to ensure efficient and effective cost benefit and utilization of resources: For purchases with a value of less than $500, and the purchase is within the committee s budget, the purchase may be made without further authorization. Any purchases over $1,000 require approval from the Board of Directors prior to making the purchase. They are also to follow the guidelines set below for obtaining quotes. Purchases of $500 but less than $2,500 requires a minimum of three verbal quotes that are documented and maintained to record the vendors that were contacted, the supplies or services sought, the quoted price and the vendor selected. Where the vendor selected was not the vendor 5
that provided the lowest quote, you are to note the reason for its selection. Purchases of $2,500 but less than $25,000 require a minimum of three written quotes obtained from vendors. The quotes are to be maintained by the treasurer. Where the vendor selected was not the vendor that provided the lowest quote, you are to note the reason for its selection. The quotes obtained at any level of purchasing will be verbally communicated to the Board of Directors so they are aware of price ranges when being asked to approve the purchase when it is over $1,000. Purchases of $25,000 or more shall follow the competitive bid process. In the case of a sole-source supplier, a letter should be obtained from the vendor indicating and verifying a sole-source product and stating that they are the only vendor to sell or service said product. This letter should be attached to the purchase order and kept on file. The formal Request for Proposal process represents the department's good faith effort of obtaining price quotes for purchases. Formal RFP processes that produce less than three proposals justify an exception to the three-price quote policy. The RFP and results should be attached to the purchase order and kept on file. Where you determine that it is not possible or not advantageous to the Agricultural Society to select a supplier or provider based upon lowest cost, the agency may select a vendor using a Request for Proposal (RFP) or similar process. To properly use the RFP process, consult sections 125.07 and 125.071 of the Revised Code and Administrative Rule 123:5-1-08. Emergency Purchases Three price quotes, both verbal and written, are not required in the case of emergencies, in the case of sole-source suppliers, and in cases where a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process is performed. An emergency is defined as a good or service that is needed immediately so as to not interrupt the daily activities of the Medina County Agricultural Society. Examples may include, but is not limited to, breakdown of a boiler, HVAC system, security system, water lines, gas lines, automatic doors or computers. For any emergency purchase, the person with the emergency is to contact the chairman of the committee that is involved along with the president and/or vice president so they are aware of the emergency. In emergency situations, committees should make purchases on a reasonable basis with the expedience for the public's safety or protection of assets as the primary considerations. Documentation explaining the emergency situation is to be attached to the purchase order and kept on file. A review of the emergency purchase is to be given to the full board at the next regular meeting. Employee Payroll 1. Part time summer employees $7.50 per hour starting pay $.50 per hour automatically for returning each year; cap at $10.50 per hour. 2. Hourly ground maintenance supervisor and salaried employees; pay is determined at budget. 6
3. Community center employees; pay is reviewed in April Verification of Receipt 1. Directors and Officials must sign acknowledgment of receipt of the handbook by each February full board meeting. Any Director or Official not signing the acknowledgement will have their name announced at the January full board meeting. _ 7
acknowledges that I have read and will comply with the 2011 Medina County Fair Directors and Officials Handbook. Signature Date 8