West Holmes FFA students help run Nashville Fun Fair

Six West Holmes FFA students spent Friday evening running games at Nashville Elementary School’s annual Fun Fair, putting Mia Spencer, Una Holasek, Cameron Hinton, Emily Manges, Emma Eberhard and Courtney Crider in the middle of one of Nashville’s most visible community events.

The fair was held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on April 24 and was open to the entire community. West Holmes FFA members helped keep the games moving throughout the night, giving the school a steady volunteer presence while families from Nashville and the surrounding area came through the building.

The work fit the broader purpose of agricultural education in Holmes County. Ohio FFA says the organization prepares members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture, and that mission reaches well beyond livestock judging or classroom lessons. In a small community, helping at a school fair also teaches students how to organize, communicate and follow through when people are depending on them.

That larger network is substantial. Ohio FFA reported 30,723 members in 341 chapters during the 2024-25 academic year, and the National FFA Organization said membership reached 1,042,245 in 9,407 chapters in 2025. West Holmes FFA is part of that system, but the value shows up locally in moments like this, when students from one school step in to help another school’s event run smoothly.

The Nashville Fun Fair also was not a one-time gesture for the chapter. West Holmes FFA volunteered at the same event in 2022, when members helped with setup, games and meal service. That repeated involvement points to an established relationship between the chapter and Nashville Elementary, one that gives students a place to practice service while offering the school reliable extra hands for a crowd-pleasing evening.

For Holmes County, the benefit is practical. Students get experience that can translate to future jobs, leadership roles and work in agriculture-related fields, while the community gets young people who show up, take responsibility and support a neighboring school in a direct, visible way.