There will be no Country Day this August.
The Union Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors held an emergency meeting last Thursday night to discuss whether they would proceed with plans to hold the 41st annual Union Country Day Festival. At the meeting, the board decided to cancel the festival.
Also at the meeting, Union Chamber Director Stephanie Collins stepped down from her position with the chamber, because the director’s salary was paid from the money raised during the annual festival.
Marion Whinery, president of the Union Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber decided to forego the festival plans due to having vacancies on the board of directors.
“Because we do not have a full board of directors and membership is low, therefore, we could not sponsor the event,” Whinery said in a written statement Monday. “Anyone willing to help, come join the chamber. Contact Marion Whinery, Beth Milling, Britt Gibbs, George Hedgepeth and Sara Alexander.”
Country Day started in the mid-1970s as just a way for part-time musicians in Union to play music in front of eager crowds. It was also used as a time when many Union families would schedule their reunions.
The festival grew to include events such as the Country Boy Pageant, Country Showdown, parade, car show, 5k races and even a petting zoo in recent years. It was also an event that showcased political speaking, especially during election years. The festival featured as many as 100 vendors for food, arts and crafts and other unique items.
Whinery said they are hopeful that they may be able to hold a Country Day festival later in the year.
Collins said she and volunteers were willing to continue with the festival despite not having enough board members. However, the board learned that the chamber must have a full board of directors to be able to put on an event, such as Country Day.
“The reason why the board decided to cancel Country Day isn’t because we didn’t have enough help,” Collins said. “We knew that we didn’t have a full board of directors, and we were prepared to deal with that. I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who were willing to give their time to help us put on Country Day, but the problem is that we didn’t have enough members on the board of directors.”
Collins said the chamber would be returning money to vendors and sponsors who were planning to take part in the event.
Whinery said Friday that the issue came up late Thursday night, when he learned that it could be a liability for the chamber didn’t have a full board.
“I didn’t want me or the chamber to be held liable if something happened,” Whinery said. “We had no choice but to cancel.”
The board of directors has lost several members during the summer, as either those members’ businesses closed or the board member has taken a new job outside of Union. Collins said they didn’t have enough time to recruit new board members before Country Day.
“Several of the people the chamber voted to fill the chamber board declined to serve,” Collins said. “So we didn’t have any alternates left to ask if they wanted to come on the board. And the process of nominating new board members and holding an election will take much longer than two weeks.”
