ZANESVILLE, Ohio — After a year of resignations and arguments over direction, Muskingum County’s agricultural society voters chose a sharply different fair board: only two incumbents kept their seats Oct. 28, and two former members who resigned this year won their way back. The results, reported by the Zanesville Times Recorder, were followed Nov. 3 by a reorganization meeting where Denny Mozena was named president, replacing Jerry Miller, who lost his bid for another term.
Six seats were on the ballot. For four three-year terms expiring in 2029, incumbent Heather Noss led with 262 votes and newcomer Keith McKenzie won a seat with 212, according to the Times Recorder. The other two terms went to returning former members Derek Watiker (202 votes) and Andy Wilson (192) — both having resigned within the past year.
The other incumbents fell short: former president Jerry Miller received 112 votes, Jesse Passwaters 128 and Dave Eck 94, according to the Times Recorder. Passwaters and Eck had been appointed in 2026 to fill board vacancies, so their service ended by voters’ decision rather than after a full elected term.
Voters also reshaped the shorter terms. For a two-year term ending in 2028, Ashton Pettit defeated incumbent Brady Johnson, 197 to 133, according to the Times Recorder; Johnson had first joined by appointment this year. For a one-year term expiring in 2027, incumbent Darren Hanby defeated former member Berney Harmon 166 to 143. Harmon resigned in 2026, citing personal reasons in a letter the Times Recorder obtained through a public records request. McKenzie, the one brand-new director, could not be reached for comment, the Times Recorder reported.
The turnover caps a turbulent year for the Muskingum County Agricultural Society, which runs the fair in Zanesville. Earlier this year, the Times Recorder found nearly half the board had resigned in 2026, including John Graham, president for 36 years, along with Wilson, Watiker, Dan Thornton and Harmon. Most resignation letters, retrieved by the Times Recorder through a public records request, gave personal reasons with little explanation, leaving 4-H families to wonder who would lead the fair next.
Wilson’s return shows how personal and programmatic reasons intertwined. He left in January and told the Times Recorder the biggest factor was supporting a family member through health issues, and that an improvement in that family member’s health gave him more capacity to serve again. He also told the Times Recorder he worried 4-H was getting lost and exhibitor rules had become inflexible — a concern that surfaced in August, when hog-sale changes drew community blowback before a compromise.
"For me, a fair is about the 4-H and the kids. If you don’t have the kids and 4-H, then it’s a carnival," Wilson told the Zanesville Times Recorder. Encouraged by community and board members to run again, he told the Times Recorder he wants to help 4-H and the agricultural side of the fair, bringing two years of board service and many more years volunteering.
Watiker’s path back was similar. Encouraged by current and recently re-elected members to run, he told the Times Recorder on Nov. 3 that stepping away involved personal reasons — including taking over the family construction business from his father and becoming its president — and creative differences over the fair’s direction. He told the Times Recorder he now understands the role better, has a stronger team at the business, and wants his return to emphasize 4-H and the children who exhibit.
The new members join a board coming off a difficult season. The 180th Muskingum County Blue Ribbon Fair ran Aug. 16-22, 2026, without the traditional larger-name concert, a change made on financial grounds after soft concert ticket sales, according to earlier Times Recorder reporting. In farewell remarks Nov. 3 reported by the Times Recorder, Miller cited easing late 4-H submission policies, filling vacancies by application and interview, hosting the fair’s first summer rodeo, adding 200 tons of blacktop, renovating the north stage and keeping the fair in the black despite challenging weather.
"It’s been an honor to serve as your president," Miller said Nov. 3, in remarks reported by the Zanesville Times Recorder. "These are volunteer roles. You step up because you care about the kids, 4-H, and the fairgrounds, our fair, and the community." Miller told the Times Recorder he had not decided whether to run again. Continuing directors include vice president Katie Linville, secretary Mike Boysel, treasurer Gail Deitrick, Rodney Crooks and Jonna Sharp, according to the Times Recorder.
Mozena framed the work ahead as continuity. "We just need to keep moving forward," Mozena told the Zanesville Times Recorder. "We just need to continue to grow the fair as an agricultural representation of Muskingum County, be that the 4-H program and FFA program or the open class shows. Make it a family destination for a week in August." The stakes are practical: the board sets junior fair rules, livestock sale arrangements, vendor policies and the grandstand lineup.
What happens next is a first full planning cycle for the remade board, whose staggered terms — one expiring in 2027, one in 2028 and four in 2029 — give the new majority time to act. The directors sworn in Nov. 3 will shape the next fair in August, and exhibitors who pushed back in August will watch whether the returning members deliver the kid-centered fair they described to the Times Recorder.
Photo: Mbrickn, CC BY 4.0