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OZAUKEE COUNTY FAIR CONLEY MEDIA JULY 2022 11 By Anne Brown Special to Conley Media CEDARBURG — It's easy to view the Ozaukee County Fair as a temporary spectacle of demoli- tion derbies, live music and every- thing in between. However, the actual creation process of the fair is one months in the making, one that starts the moment doors close on the year previous and doesn't stop until every vendor, competition and stage is ready for thousands of visitors. The Ozaukee County Agricul- tural Society Board operates the County Fair annually, and its team of volunteer board members donates time throughout the year to make sure the event runs smoothly. Though the contributions of all the members of the board are commendable, one longtime vol- unteer's efforts are particularly notable. This person is Jody Brzezinski, who is consistently referenced by her fair colleagues as one of the most devoted mem- bers of the board. "I have repeatedly described Jody as the glue that holds the Fair together," Mark Larson, pres- ident of the Ozaukee County Agricultural Society Board, said. "She is amazingly on top of what we need to file … with insurance and other requirements. She attends virtually all committee meetings during the year, in addition to weekly board meet- ings, our annual meeting, and the annual Wisconsin Association of Fairs Convention. She has taken on the responsibility of lining up all of the judges who review all of the 4-H projects and open class exhibits. She has also been a 4-H leader for a score of years, which can intertwine with the Fair func- tion." Brzezinski got involved in the Ozaukee County Fair through its collaboration with the 4-H organi- zation, a nationwide youth agri- cultural program. She was an active member throughout her life, and even got her daughter Emily involved. "She signed me up for the Tiny Tot show, which is where all the little kids show their dairy ani- mals, and so it started," Emily Brzezinski said. "She wasn't the parent that dropped me off and then picked me up when it was over. She was the parent that was extremely hands-on." From 4-H, the County Fair was a natural next project for Brzezin- ski. "She was elected to the Fair Board of Directors, and a few years in was appointed secretary," Jamie Nevins, Fair Board mem- ber, explained. "She has great attention to detail and communi- cation skills. During the fair, she is plugging away in the office making sure the day to day things get done." While it's easy at first to see the Ozaukee County Fair as a finished product, once let into the inner workings of the The Ozaukee County Agricultural Society Board, visitors will only be able to see the hours of meetings, work and devotion spent on the event. And no one else better exemplifies that fact than Jody Brzezinski. "The Ozaukee County Agricul- tural Society Board is unique in that the board members are very hands-on — physically doing the set-up with the help of great vol- unteers from the 4-H and the com- munity at large," Larson described. "For example, board members and their families put up the billboard on I-43 them- selves, as well as the larger road signs around the county. (They also) physically set up the fair- grounds for the fair over a couple- week period of time and then clean up, store things away and return the grounds to the county and the Cedarburg Firemen in great shape." Among the Agricultural Soci- ety Board members, Jody Brzezin- ski is exemplar of the group's commitment to the community that the county fair serves. "We call ourselves a fair family, because we feel like a tight-knit family. Jody is like our mother fig- ure — she is our go-to person when we are working to get our stuff done," Nevins said. Brzezinski's daughter appreci- ates her mother's efforts toward the fair s much as the Fair Board members do. "She is an extremely selfless person," Emily Brzezinski said. "She would give her limb to any- body who needed it. She's just the most giving person ever." Fair board is a family that works year round for the five-day event Praise given to board's 'mother,' Jody Brzezinski Submitted photo Jody Brzezinski has been involved with 4-H almost her entire life and is now an integral member of the Ozaukee County Agricultural Society Board. Photo by Mark Justesen/News Graphic staff Members of the 2022-23 Ozaukee County Fair Board of Directors are front row, from left, Lindsey Berndt, Jamie Nevins, Carol Boehlke, Secretary Jody Brzezinski and Christine Curran. Back row from left, are Bob Schmidt, Nathan Matter, President Mark Larson, Brian Hodgson, Travis Steinert, Peter Lederer, Vice President Mark Matter, Treasurer Bret Priaulx and Kevin Scheibel. Not pictured is Bob Roden, executive member at large.

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