After decades of working the fair, longtime workers are excited for future

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Many thoroughly enjoy going to the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. But some people love it so much, it's been a part of their lives for decades. 

"[In] 1970 I started," recalls Dan Holderman. 

He remembers what the Elkhart County 4-H Fair used to look like. 

"I used to keep my horses here as a kid," he says. "There was a big old horse barn, on the east side of the grounds, on a hill. The hill's gone, the barn's gone, but I'm not gone. I'm still here.

It's an ever-evolving family. 

"All of the people, all the kids," says Holderman.

"I have good friends here," adds Dan Shewmaker. 

Holderman and Shewmaker are one of the long-serving fair board members and volunteers. 

With more than thirty years under each of their belts, they know change.

"You have to make changes in the future to stay vibrant and strong. And we're trying to do that," says Shewmaker. 

But they also have learned, passion is important. 

"I just love what I'm doing," says Holderman. 

It's a brotherhood and a legacy.

One that they believe will stand the test of time.

"I was thinking the other day, maybe if I hit 50 years on the board, I might think about retiring," says Holderman. "But then I thought, well they could probably find a job for an old man."