By Tim Leeds/Havre Daily News/tleeds@havredailynews.com
A Havre businessman will be honored at the Great Northern Fair for his support of that Hill County institution.
"We try to support about everything up there, because it's one of the great things the community has," Scott Young said Thursday.
The Great Northern Fair Board will present Young with a gift at a reception from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday near the fairgrounds arena entrance. He also will be thanked for his years of support for the fair at Scott Young Appreciation Night at the Great Northern Fair PRCA Rodeo, which begins at 7 p.m.
Peggy Nivens, co-chair of the committee that selected Young, said the honor is appropriate.
"He's a really neat guy. He's just somebody who does stuff but doesn't expect anything for it," she said. "I thought it would be really cool to honor him."
This is the second year the fair has honored a community member. Last year's honoree was Ed Solomon.
Young said he has been involved in the Hill County fair since he and his wife, Kay, moved to Havre in 1982 to take over her parents' business, Norman's Ranch and Sportswear.
"I've been helping them through four fair managers," he said. "Anything we can do to help the Great Northern Fair."
His involvement in fairs goes back to his youth, when he was growing up on his parents' ranch in the Bear Paw Mountains. The Youngs, who lived on Clear Creek in Blaine County, usually went to the Blaine County Fair, he said.
He also went to fairs for the rodeos, competing in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, calf roping and bull riding in high school. He competed as a bull rider for a short time after he graduated from high school, but not for long.
"We had to work more than we could play," he said.
Young said his involvement in the Hill County fair has taken many forms. He has donated time and work. He served one term on the fair board, during which time the Great Northern Fair began hosting the state high school rodeo - it came to Hill County from 1992 through 1994. He has worked at the annual 4-H auction for about 18 years.
"And I've helped with the arena a lot," he said.
Mike Spencer, who was the fairground superintendent in 1993 and the fairgrounds manager from 1994 through this year, attests to that.
When he took over as the manager, Spencer said, many people would come help with the arena once the rodeo started. Young was the only person who actually showed him how to care for and prepare the arena before the fair, he said.
"A lot of people said how to do it. He showed me," Spencer said.
Young's help with the fair takes many forms, Spencer said. He has helped with fund-raisers, has sponsored events and donated his own time.
Former Hill County Sheriff Tim Solomon, who retired last year, took over as fairgrounds manager this spring when Spencer stepped down. He said the contributions of Scott and Kay Young go far beyond the fair, supporting local athletics, the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, community fund-raisers and more.
"You tend to see them in all kinds of activities," he said.
Young has helped Solomon learn how to handle his new job this year, Solomon said.
"He's very willing to give his advice about things," Solomon said. " He's done a lot and it's nice to see him recognized for it."
Kip Lybeck, who's been involved in Hill County 4-H for close to 20 years, said Young is always willing to help out, no matter where he is.
"You don't get any better than that," Lybeck said. "He's a true cowboy."
