Last year Sturgis faced a continued baby formula shortage that crippled the nation and a sudden dismissal that led to uproar at the St. Joseph County Fair.
Friday’s meeting was called in the wake of a 7-5 vote Oct. 10 to dismiss Tefft from her 18-month stint as fair manager. She had been affiliated with the fair in various capacities since 1990.
By Jef Rietsma
Special to the Journal
A longtime St. Joseph County Grange Fair employee has settled into a newly created position, and the fair board has several new members.
Missi Tefft, who has been involved with the fair for more than three decades, was named fair venue coordinator.
In the process, the fair lost a decades-long employee, Ruth Cornwell.
Tom Miller, a fair board member and past president, said Cornwell did not apply for the venue coordinator position, choosing instead to retire.
Miller described how the new position was created.
“There was a restructuring and the board was trying to give a little more authority than what a normal secretary would have,” Miller said. “We’ve been constantly trying to improve upon our business and operational techniques. Quite honestly, Ruth was doing the work of three people, because in the past few years, we departed from the part-time marketing person and the full-time manager, and pretty much just left her with a littl