IT AIN'T ALL ABOUT THE EGG. IT'S ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE.

Eggs are a hot topic these days, and while we’ve never been huge egg eaters, we do enjoy the fact that we can walk outside and grab some farm-fresh butt nuggets right out of the coop. But I didn’t get chickens for the eggs; I got them for the experience.

Growing up in Waynesboro, Virginia, the opportunity to be raised in agriculture was not readily available. Waynesboro has “city schools,” for lack of better words, and we didn’t do “county things.” At one point in time, my father posed the question of whether or not we would want to move to “the county,” aka Augusta County. My sister immediately stomped out an “ABSOLUTELY NOT,” and I was ready to start packing. Fast forward—we didn’t move to Augusta. My sister and I both graduated from Waynesboro High School and never knew a lick about 4-H, FFA, or anything of the like.

In 2021, my good friend Amy White pulled one over on me and voluntold me that I’d be helping out with the Botetourt County Fair. I do not remember how the conversation started or ended. All I know is that I got thrown headfirst into one of the craziest groups of people I’ve ever met in my life. In addition to being crazy as hell, they are also loyal as hell and THICK AS THIEVES. I’m talking next-level loyal. These are the kinds of people that, once you get in their circle, you couldn’t pay them to let you out. These are the kinds of people you can call at 2 a.m. and say with extreme panic in your voice, “I need you to meet me in the parking lot of Limestone Park with $2,000 in 30 minutes,” and their reply would be, “Small or big bills?”

Now, at the time I met said fair people, I did not know this. The only thing I knew was that Amy had pitched me to a group of people who knew I didn’t know shit from Shinola about fair life. And yet, they didn’t ask me a single question about my capabilities. Not only did they let me right on in, but a redhead by the name of Kate decided it would be completely fine to put me in charge of all the vendors. I am not sure if they wanted me to stay or if they were trying to run me off—it had to be one of the most stressful (and yet somehow fun) things I’ve ever done. Somehow, I pulled it off, and years later, not only am I still in charge of the vendors, but I helped incorporate the fair, file (and receive approval in record time) for our non-profit status, and proudly serve on the board.

When I got involved with the fair, I learned that the event was supported and driven by the Botetourt County Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension, or the Extension Office for short. Run a quick Google search, and you’ll come across the webpage, which shares that: “The Botetourt County office of Virginia Cooperative Extension is your local connection to Virginia‘s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. Through educational programs based on research and developed with input from local stakeholders, we help the people of Botetourt County improve their lives. We provide education through programs in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, and Community Viability.”

Not only did the Extension Office facilitate the fair, but it also controlled all the funds. And, because that office has to play by a very specific set of rules, there are limits as to what those funds can and cannot be used for. I learned over time that a group of people who had run the fair over the years once had a vision of stepping away from the Extension Office and becoming a non-profit. By doing so, the fair would then be able to control its own funds and could use those monies for a number of things outside of what the Extension Office could allow—things like fundraising, developing scholarship programs, developing new programs, and allowing youth from other counties to participate. That dream had been put on hold for a number of years, but when I heard the conversation strike back up, I couldn’t help but say, “So… let’s do it.” And do it, we did!

When you step away from the Extension Office, you step away with ZERO dollars in your bank account. And, non-profit or not, money doesn’t just come chasin’. I had the utmost confidence that we could raise the capital needed to put on the fair that first year. I had ZERO reservations. I knew what kind of people I was working alongside, and I thought time and time again, “… this will not fail. It can’t fail….” These were some of the hardest-working people I have ever met. They don’t quit; they just GET SHIT DONE. And if you know an Armentrout, then you know—THESE are our people.

I won’t go into the details of how much a fair costs (I mean, you can always request a FOIA—we have nothing to hide), but I will tell you that just the tents alone cost about $7K. Staring at zero and getting to seven thousand, and then some, did seem a bit daunting at times. But before we knew it, the community rallied hard. We did some serious fundraising, and we are incredibly blessed that the mothers, fathers, sisters, and daughters all around Botetourt County believed in what we were trying to do. The love, support, and encouragement we received from our community was (AND STILL IS) absolutely incredible!

Four years later, and I am far from being well-versed in all things 4-H and FFA. The one thing that I do know is that the kids involved in these programs will NOT fail to launch. These kids have a work ethic like I’ve never seen, manners that will make you do a double take, and holy WOW are they smart! I’ve seen six-year-old kids make better eye contact with me than a 25-year-old standing behind the teller line at the bank. They. Are. Incredible.

Watching these kids at the live auction the first year made me wonder how different my life would have been had I grown up in this environment, and this comes rushing back to me year after year.

Watching these kids at the live auction was also when Amy piped up and said, “Girl! You gotta get you some chickens. They’ll change your life!” And so it began…

A couple of days after the fair, I told JB (that’s my husband) we were going to get chickens. He was not amused. “The hell we are!” is actually how it shook down. “We are NOT getting damn chickens. We don’t need them, and we aren’t getting them.” He’s cute when he gets fired up. He’s also a big pushover, and I usually get what I want. Which… is why we got 15 chickens.

Now, I had to be strategic about this chicken thing. I started by mentioning it to The Usual Suspects (you’ve read about them in another blog) when JB was not around—no surprise, when the four of them not only jumped on board, but my buddy Bill wanted to be the conductor of the crazy chicken train.

Now that I knew he was outvoted, I brought up the idea again when we were all together. Everyone chimed in at how awesome it would be, and JB dug in his heels. Deeper and deeper they seemed to go the more we talked about it. Bill and I had a vision… a chicken empire we would build! The coop would be the best coop in all the land, complete with mirrors and xylophones to keep the girls entertained and happy. We dreamt of boujie nesting boxes and joked that it would have a bar inside so we could go have cocktails and beers with “the girls.”

According to some, this boujie chicken coop is exactly what we have. JB refused (at first) to have any part of it. Bill and I explained that the coop would be small, only large enough for a few girls. Those heels dug deeper. So deep, that JB actually decided on planning and design day that he would go run errands. ROOKIE MISTAKE leaving me and ‘ol Bill alone! The coop we talked about was about 4’ x 8’. The coop we HAVE is about 24’ x 16’.

After the footers were in (yes, we seriously have footers sunk in 4’ of concrete AND hurricane brackets for extra reinforcement), there wasn’t a whole lot JB could do – or say. He eventually folded and helped with things – heck, he even sliced his leg open on corrugated metal putting on the roof (probably should have gotten stitches) – and now will agree to feed them and collect eggs when I’m traveling for work. I call that a win.

The coop was officially named “Birds & Bourbon” upon completion, and I’m happy to report that of the 15 we acquired several years ago, 11 are still with us and are doing well. The heated travertine floors never got installed, and proper HVAC was ultimately decided against. But, all in all, egg production is solid and often for sale on The Circle.

I’m convinced that you don’t choose the fair life; fair life chooses you. 

We are now on year 3 of operating as a non-profit, and each year we have grown. We officially have that scholarship program that was dreamt about. Under the leadership of Stefanie Manbeck, we developed our Feather to Fork program, a youth educational project focused on poultry. It is open to any Botetourt County youth OR any non-Botetourt County youth enrolled in 4-H and FFA. Kate Lawrence and Katherine Carter both bring an INSANE amount of knowledge and experience to the table while our newly acquired board member, Brittany Turman (aka BT) SLAYS our social media and has HUGE dreams and aspirations for the fair.  There are a countless number of volunteers who work tirelessly to make the fair a success, we could not do it alone. 

“Fair years is kind of like dog years, and four calendar years is actually the equivalent of 10 years of your life” – Kate Lawrence.

Our board continues to discuss new programs and opportunities to help support our youth in their agricultural adventures, and we are proud of every single one of them and the hard work they put in year after year. Someday, one of those kids will likely be in my seat, and I can’t wait to see how awesome it will be when that time comes.

A huge thank you to those “crazy fair people” who welcomed me into their circle.  You are like no others and my life has been changed for the better because of each of you. 

For the record, “She ain’t from around here…” will always be an acceptable way to introduce me to new faces in Botetourt County. 

With a smile,

EB