Gary Brock and his company, 360 Custom Fabrication LLC, helped bring a new look to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds last year.

A new sign was built next to the fair office. It included silhouettes of farm animals and the year the fair first began, which is 1947.

Fair Secretary Chasity Lichtenberg said a new sign was needed after the original wooden carved fair broke apart shortly before the 2025 fair.

“We knew the sign had become a staple photo spot on the fairgrounds over the years, and we regularly saw families and exhibitors stopping to take pictures there,” Lichtenberg said. “Because of its importance to fairgoers, we wanted to replace it with something that would not only serve the same purpose but also enhance the appearance of the fairgrounds.”

Lichtenberg said the sign was a great addition to the fairgrounds. It will return for its second year at the fairgrounds as the annual fair is scheduled to start on July 20.

“We’re proud of how it turned out and are happy to see it continue serving as a popular gathering and photo location for families and exhibitors,” Lichtenberg said.

It took Brock and his company a couple of weeks to create the sign. Brock said making the sign was a pretty fun project.

“It was nice to work with the fair board and donate to the fair and community,” he said. “It made the appearance of the fairgrounds a little nicer. Their sign was pretty old and was kind of falling apart.”

Brock has owned 360 Custom Fabrication LLC for five years. It is located between Mineola and Big Spring and makes signs, does repairs and welding projects.

Brock said fair officials asked him if he could make a new sign for the fair as well as donate it.

“We kind of talked about how we wanted the sign that would represent the fair,” said Brock, who has been living in Montgomery County since 1988. “It’s a rural community. The farm animals and livestock auction are very big parts of the fair. They bring a lot of money to the fair. They bring a lot of community members to the fair for a more family, rural kind of setting.”