(Riverton, WY) – Last week, the Fremont County Commission voted to reduce the Fremont County Fair Board’s membership from seven to five, effective January 1. The Fair Board is appointed by the Commission; members act in a volunteer capacity and are not paid.
Currently, the Board is comprised of Trevor Bekken (Chairman), Nikki Horton (Vice Chair), Alexandria Eckhardt (Secretary), Kourtney Hanger (Treasurer), Megan Jones, Rob Dolcater, and Jeremy Vukich.
In response to the community concerns raised online and media requests for comment, the Commission issued the following release on December 4, signed by Chairman Larry Allen, who also serves as the Board liaison.
“The Fremont County Commission voted in open session on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, to reduce the size of the Fair Board from 7 to 5 members. The Commission has been in discussion with the Fair Board for several months regarding personnel procedures and boardsmanship. The County, as an employer, is not at liberty to discuss personnel issues publicly, and the Commission tends to give the same covering for appointed boards. In general, the County Commission is more comfortable with smaller boards, and where statutes allow.”
The Fair Board convened for a regular meeting last Thursday, December 4, where around 50 community members showed up to express their support for keeping the Board at seven members and to possibly receive more context on why the decision was made.
Chairman Trevor Bekken explained at the meeting that the Board was also not at liberty to discuss personnel matters, but that could not prohibit meeting attendees from speaking on the situation during public comment. He also shared that Fair General Manager Pat Hart and Commissioner Allen were not in attendance at the meeting.
One of the individuals who was on the meeting agenda and allotted time to speak to attendees was Ernie Fischer, who shared that he has been involved in the agriculture/fair community his whole life.
Fischer stated that after the Commission’s decision was made, he called Commissioner Ron Fabrizius to inquire as to why.
Fischer claimed that Commissioner Fabrizius started by saying that “it’s easier and less people to deal with,” that “five was more than enough,” and that “everyone can still volunteer.”
Per Fischer’s public comment, he then told Fabrizius that the fair does “run smoothly because of volunteers,” but not all volunteers “have a voice to help facilitate and direct the direction of the fair.”
Fischer went on to state that during the “heated” phone call, Commissioner Fabrizius told him the current Fair Board is “toxic,” that they are “holding meetings in secret” with “no public notices.”
Fischer said his follow-up questions to those comments went unanswered, and that the call ultimately ended with Commissioner Fabrizius hanging up on him. County 10 reached out to Commissioner Fabrizius to respond to Fischer’s comments, but as of publication he has not replied to our emails and phone call.
While Chairman Trevor Bekken then reiterated that the Board could not discuss personnel specifically, Vice-Chair Nikki Horton stated that any claims about non-public/secret meetings were “not real,” and that she doesn’t believe there is anything the Board has “ever done that could be considered toxic.”
Horton stated that it felt like the Commission had been “actively trying to work against us” ever since the Board brought other concerns to the Commission a few months ago.
“It does feel like now this new development with the removal of two of our seats is just a result of us shining a light on serious problems that we were worried about,” Horton told the crowd. “Our only goal is that the Fair succeeds, and that our kids have an opportunity to showcase what they do all year.”
Horton, who shared a Facebook post about the Commission’s decision last week, said her goal was to encourage community members to reach out to the Commission to share their opinions. “We cannot control the decisions that they made,” Horton commented.
Horton then detailed the amount of hours/effort the Board puts in to organize and run Fair events, and lamented that now they will be doing so with two fewer members.
“We’re happy to do it, we love to do it, but it’s going to be very difficult to carry out the level of tasks that we are required to do to make (the Fair) go with five of us,” Horton said. “We’re short with seven. …We do have the ability to get more volunteers, it’s not that we don’t, it’s just that the logistical things shouldn’t be the responsibility of volunteers (who) are not in a position to do so.”
A crowd member then asked how often Commissioners “actually show up to these meetings.”
“Not frequently,” Horton replied, and later added that the Board’s invitation to the Commissioners to attend the Thursday night meeting was declined, and, as stated above, the liaison, Allen, was also not in attendance.
Chase Taylor, lifelong Fremont County resident and owner/operator of Chase Taylor Show Goats, was the next person scheduled on the agenda to speak, and stated that “the seven Fair Board members sitting in front of us are by far, hands down, the best group of people we’ve had on our Fair Board in my lifetime.”
“I believe that the large public attendance tonight represents the demographic of outrage by the recent vote,” Taylor continued. “You should be outraged. …It appears that our Fair Board is being punished for executing their duties outlined in their bylaws. In my mind, this vote was a direct act of retaliation to purposely reduce their quorum. With this public outrage also now in the mix, I do not imagine this is the last act of retaliation that will occur against the group that sits in the seats in front of us.”
“It is concerning that these commissioners will not support the decisions of the people they appointed to this Board to do what’s best for our County Fair,” Taylor continued. “This extends far past the moral and ethical expectations we should have for our elected public officials, and I fear this is only the first battle of the war that is to come.”
Taylor concluded by urging those opposed to the Commission’s vote to sign a petition she started, requesting that the Board remain at seven members. Taylor said folks interested in signing the petition can call her at 307-851-2213, or sign a physical copy at Dell Rose Boutique, located in Riverton at 1188 W Main Street.
Pam Rivers, the next scheduled speaker, echoed Taylor’s sentiments about her admiration for the current Fair Board, which she said had spent countless hours helping the County Fair run smoothly, something she claimed previous Board members did not do. Rivers said she had even sent the Commissioners a letter stating as much back in October, before the vote occurred.
Four other attendees spoke in support of the Board/keeping the membership at seven people, one of whom asked, “How do we fix this?”
“I don’t know how we fix this,” Chairman Bekken replied. “I don’t know how we even attempt to try to fix this. The vote has already been done. …I really appreciate the support we have gotten tonight, but my opinion (is that) we need the support over at the Lander Courthouse. We need emails, we need phone calls, we need all the support that we can get to the County Commissioners, because ultimately, the County Commissioners made this choice, and they have the authority to make this choice.”
“In the state of Wyoming, statutorily, you have to have a minimum of five, maximum of nine (members),” Bekken continued. “We’re right in the middle at seven, and we don’t understand the reason, but we would really like to keep seven Board Members.”
Attendee Odessa Oldham reiterated that people should show their support by attending upcoming Commission meetings to speak during public comment, the next of which is tomorrow at 9 AM in the Commission Chambers at the Fremont County Courthouse.
h/t Vince Tropea, County 10