There is something new that’s coming to the Montgomery County Fair this year.

The fair added a junior fair board that has a mix of area high school and college students who will help out with day-to-day operations at the five-day event, which starts on July 19 and ends on July 23 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

Among the members on the board are Macy Bader, Brady Grosse, Lexy Veach, Madison Coleman, Annie Robinson, Cora Johnson, Malerie Schutt, Josh Gilbert, Molly Causey, Presley Schluss, Carie Schroer, Derrick Cobb, Brayden Harris, Izzy Freymuth, Alli Boedges, Ray Poston, Shea Stille, Maddi Poage and Kadyn Schmidt.

“We are beyond ecstatic to have our junior fair board,” said Chasity Lichtenberg, secretary of the Montgomery County Fair Board. “The senior fair board had been brainstorming on ideas of how to get more interest in planning and executing the fair. It takes a ton of manpower to make the fair happen, and we were struggling to get enough help. A couple of other county fairs do this, so we thought we would try it. It has been phenomenal. They are all so eager to learn and try new things. They have planned their own events during fair week and will completely do those events by themselves.”

Johnson, who will be a senior at Montgomery County High School this fall, said she liked the idea of having a junior fair board.

“We have only so many senior fair board members, and it’s a lot of work for them to put this on,” Johnson said. “They always need an extra set of hands to help. That’s kind of what we’re doing. All of our junior board members are really passionate about different parts of our fair. I have worked in the concessions and food industry for my entire life. I have worked and volunteered at our fair since I was barely walking. That’s what I love to do. That’s kind of how all of us came to really be in this. It’s a big deal because all of us have been so involved.”

The fair will be celebrating its 75th year this summer. Its theme is called “All-American Flair at the 75th Montgomery County Fair.”

“The Montgomery County Fair board is extremely excited to be celebrating our 75th year,” Lichtenberg said. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work to get the fair planned and find new events, so that we have something that interests everyone. The fair board members enjoy seeing all the smiling faces during the fair. It means that we have done our jobs.”

To commemorate the 75th anniversary, the fair will have a National Traveling Memorial Exhibit, which is a photographic war memorial that honors the country’s military Fallen from the War on Terror.

“It’s an amazing exhibit that everyone is going to want to be sure to stop and see during fair week,” Lichtenberg said.

The junior fair board members have been going to local businesses to sell sponsorships for the exhibit. There are only 34 sponsorships available, and the cost is $225 per sponsorship. As of July 6, 17 sponsorships were sold.

“We’ve been working pretty hard to get a lot of them out to local businesses,” Johnson said.

The junior fair board is also having the first annual Battle of Chapters, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 22 at the Livestock Arena. The contest is for 4-H and FFA chapter members and will include games such as tug-of-war and sack races.

“The junior fair board meets monthly just like the senior fair board and this was completely their idea,” Lichtenberg said. “We told them we were open to new ideas. They came up with some fantastic ones. It’s all about fun, and this is sure to be an exciting event.”

The fair kicks off on July 18 with The Little Mr. and Miss Contest at 6 p.m., followed by the Fair Queen contest at 7:30 p.m. at the Grandstands track. The fair will also have new attractions such as go-kart racing, micro wrestling, pig races and Extreme Illusions and Escapes, which is a Las Vegas-style thrill show.

The parade will start at 6 p.m. on July 19, one hour earlier than last year’s.

“We are excited to move the parade to 6 p.m.,” Lichtenberg said. “It allows families more time to come enjoy the rides and check out the vendors and fairgrounds on the free preview night.”