The 2021 Fulton County Fair is scheduled for July 26-31. Fair officials are planning a week-long event with the usual competitions, exhibits and midway. Plans are also underway for a concert featuring the popular Arkansas singer Cory Jackson, a two-night rodeo, and the popular truck pull as well as some new events. With the decrease in COVID cases and the number of vaccinations in Fulton County, officials are working to get ready for “The Best Week of the Summer” with improved facilities including a new sheep and goat barn and new arena bleachers.
The Creative Arts and Livestock Tabloids are online and can be accessed on the fair website, www.fultoncountyfair.org. Exhibitors are encouraged to review the departments and divisions and start planning 2021 fair exhibits. Photos, food preservation, art, needle work and craft exhibits made since the 2019 fair can be entered in this year’s fair. Exhibitors who do not have a computer or internet access can obtain a paper copy of the tabloid at the Fulton County Fair Office. Online entries are open and will remain open until July 10th.
Information on fair events will be released in the next few weeks. Join the Fulton County Fair Association group on Facebook to stay informed on what is happening at the Fulton County Fair.
—
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.