When Port Townsend native Bill McIntire died of heart failure at the age of 69 on Dec. 17, 2017, his widow, Sue, found herself the sole manager of the Jefferson County Fair and Fairgrounds.

Since 2003, Bill and Sue had jointly managed the fair and fairgrounds, and they had served on the fair board since the 1990s. Sue, 66, has served as treasurer since 1994 – the only paid position on the fair board – while Bill served as entertainment director since 1999, before becoming vice president in 2001 and president in 2003.

Bill took over the presidency and fair manager position from Glenn Richardson, who served as president and manager from 2000 to 2003.

Richardson was the successor of Bob Bates, who was president from 1989 to 1999, and served on the board from 1975 to 2003.

“When Bill took over the presidency, the fair’s finances were in trouble,” Sue said. “Over the past 15 years, we’ve been able to straighten out our finances, and we’ve been able to build, rebuild, repair and fix the fairgrounds.”

Sue noted the fairgrounds now host at least two other major events, besides the fair itself, and credited increased usage of the campgrounds, building rentals and storage facilities with affording the fair more financial stability.

“The fairgrounds have grown from just having the fair once a year, to something happening on the grounds everyday,” Sue said. “As a result, we’ve been able to do more with the fair itself. Bill was always very proud of the floats we built each year for the Rhody Parade. He loved it whenever anyone came up to him during the fair and said, ‘Best fair ever.’”

Sue recalled Bill rebuilding several structures on the fairgrounds, and upgrading several more, but she acknowledged much more work remains to be done.

“We plan on working toward Bill’s goals, to get and keep the buildings and grounds looking good, and to make sure the fair is the best we can make it, keeping it family-friendly for everyone to enjoy,” Sue said, adding the fair board plans to name and dedicate the last building built by Bill to his memory during this year’s fair, Aug. 10-12. “We want to keep moving forward and making him proud.”

Sue has committed to this year’s fair, but this fall, she will take stock of whether to continue with it.

“At this time, I am not positive how long I will stay on and manage the fair,” Sue said. “Chances are strong I’ll stay on – it’s in my blood – but it depends on how much support and help I can get from the board and community, and if the board wants me to stay on.”

Part of that support involves filling in all the gaps left in Bill’s absence, from maintenance that includes mowing, painting and assorted repairs at the fairgrounds to managing the fair’s entertainment, activities and on-the-ground operations.

“If a water line broke, he fixed it,” Sue said. “He volunteered more than 2,300 hours a year. When he wasn’t at the fairgrounds, he was working on something at home, building picnic tables, building the Rhody Parade float or repairing equipment.”

Sue praised Jerry Allen, acting president of the Jefferson County Fair Association, and volunteer Eric Johnson for working to fill Bill’s shoes, but she pointed out this still leaves plenty of areas in which they need help.

“In the past year, I’ve been in the office during the fair, because that was where I was needed,” Sue said. “This year, I’ll need to be on the grounds more during the fair, and my staff will have to cover more of what I did in the office, so I can do what Bill did on the grounds.”

To that end, no big changes to the status quo are planned for this year’s fair, other than to make it “the best fair ever” for Bill.

“I grew up at the fair,” Sue said. “I was 6 months old at my first fair, and I haven’t missed one since. I want our fair to be the best fair it can be for the whole family.”

David Sullivan, chairman of the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners, has worked with the McIntires on issues related to the fair and fairgrounds, and praised them as “a really good team, who had a knack for making things happen.”

Sullivan echoed Sue’s hopes that other community members would step up in Bill’s stead, and recalled how the fair board, as a whole, worked with the county in the past to address problems such as the area’s homeless population.

“I’ve always supported the fair,” said Sullivan, who noted the Jefferson County Fair has been one of the recipients of county sales tax proceeds since 2010. “And, like everyone else, I’ll miss the work that Bill did.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the fair office in person at 4907 Landes St. or by phone at 360-385-1013, during office hours, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

“I’m usually here longer than those hours, though, especially in the summer,” Sue said.