Smiarowski brings extensive agricultural background as new president of Three County Fair

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Staff Writer

Published: 03-09-2023 9:35 AM

NORTHAMPTON — Tom Smiarowski has been named the new president of the nonprofit organization that manages the Three County Fair & Fairgrounds, bringing a lifetime of agricultural experience to the position.

Smiarowski had previously been vice president of the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society, the formal name of the organization, having been with the organization for more than 20 years and on its board of directors since 2016. Smiarowski succeeds Art Lyman as president, and will serve a two-year term leading the society’s board of directors, which includes 21 other appointees.

Born on a farm in Franklin County (today known as D.A. Smiarowski Farms and run by his brother Dan), Smiarowski worked for 34 years for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in their Hampshire County office in a number of management positions. After he retired in 2012, Smiarowski worked for a decade as agricultural risk management educator for UMass Extension. He is currently a director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Club, the longest standing such club in the country; serves as a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition; and is a member of the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association.

The Belchertown resident said he hoped his long experience working in government could help to secure grants to go toward the fairgrounds.

“One of the issues that not only our fair faces, but all the other agricultural fairs in Massachusetts and probably anywhere in the world, is the aging infrastructure,” Smiarowski said. “One of the areas I really want to focus on is to explore what potential funding sources could be available.”

Smiarowski pointed out that two local representatives, state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Natalie Blais serve as vice chairs of the new joint Committee of Agriculture for their respective chambers. The fair also received funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, which recently approved another round of money for agricultural fairs.

Current improvements on the fairgrounds include new seating on the fair’s grandstand that will allow for greater handicapped access. Longer term plans for expanding the fairgrounds for a food court behind the grandstands have also been envisioned.

For Smiarowski, the importance of the fair comes from serving as a way to help connect a younger generation to the experience and workings of local farms and agriculture.

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“It’s just a change in society where the direct connection to farms isn’t there anymore,” he said. “One of the things we found is that when we try to get more interactive displays here on the fairgrounds with animals and different things, we really see the interest in young children.”

Incorporated in 1818, the Three County Fair has been recognized by the USDA as the oldest ongoing fair in continuous operation in the United States. It will return again for the 205th time for a four-day fair during Labor Day weekend. Other events the grounds are used for during the year include horse shows, indoor soccer games and the Paradise City Arts Festival.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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