“She’s done a fantastic job getting people in there, getting the buildings rented,” he said. “We went from two or three rentals a year to there’s about three or four weekends a year that aren’t rented right now. She’s done a fantastic job in a short period of time to turn it around. We’re just really excited about what’s to come in the future and she is very creative on how to get people in there and make things work.”
And creative is right. In early July, The Society for Creative Anachronisms was here jousting and feasting in 17th Century garb; about 1,600 bicyclists descended on the fairgrounds for the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. There have also been dog and cat shows, weddings and bridal showers.
One event coming up in September is one of Hangbers favorites and a natural for the fairgrounds.
“One of the things we’re excited about we have coming up, we have Construction Career Days which is a tri-state event,” she said.”I was actually in charge of that many years ago in Cincinnati. It’s Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and we’ll have between 1,700 and 2,000 high school students that will be here and they learn how to operate heavy equipment, they talk to electricians, plumbers. It’s all construction related.”
Hangbers, a life-long Butler County resident, used to work as a corporate event planner for a Cincinnati firm and she said her job at the fair was a natural transition. She graduated from Talawanda High School and Miami University has been married 38 years and raised two sons here.
"I've been part of the fair since I was five years old so 50 years in the fair," she said. "I have a real passion for the fairgrounds and this was the 166th fair so I think the tradition alone, and making sure it continues to go in the right direction is important. I have a heart for the fair and the fairgrounds."
Hangbers isn’t the fair manager per se but she is the first full-time employee the fair board has hired to make sure the grounds are used year-round. Turner said proceeds from the fair aren’t yet counted, but he estimates the events Hangbers has organized have turned about a $100,000 gross profit.
Butler County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Mark Hecquet is pleased with the bureau’s investment.
“They’ve done a really good job bringing in business at the times of year when ordinarily the fairgrounds have historically been empty…,” he said. “It’s one of those build it and they will come scenarios.”
For more information about renting at the fairgrounds, contact Hangbers at 513-892-1423
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