Building on the President’s commitment to address issues important to rural Americans, Cabinet Secretaries and other top Administration officials are visiting state fairs this summer and fall to discuss ongoing efforts to:
- Support job creation;
- Improve access to health care;
- Enhance the quality of rural education and;
- Help strengthen rural America by working better with communities, states and the federal government.
Cabinet Secretaries and Administration officials have been talking to 4-H and Future Farmers of America students, seeing solar panels on a stick and checking out best in show dairy cows. Read more about the State Fair visits so far:
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits the Delaware State Fair:
Reaching Out to Rural America: Meeting with Students at the Delaware State Fair (July 26, 2010)
Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari visits the Ohio State Fair:
Summertime Means Construction, Jobs for Ohioans (July 28, 2010)
USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk visits the Maine State Fair:
Grown Locally and Sold Globally: Creating Jobs Through Agricultural Exports (August 6, 2010)
USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon visits the Wisconsin State Fair:
A Blue Ribbon in the Fight to Feed the Hungry (August 11, 2010)
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson visits the Wisconsin State Fair:
American Tradition and Rural Innovation at the Wisconsin State Fair (August 12, 2010)
Here’s what’s coming up this week:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the Iowa State Fair
Penningroth Media Center, Cattle Barn
Des Moines, Iowa
Tuesday, August 17, 10:00 AM CDT to 11:00 AM CDT
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will return to his home state of Iowa to attend one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. Secretary Vilsack will participate in a round table discussion with local farmers and agricultural leaders to highlight the Administration’s efforts to rebuild and revitalize rural America.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at the Illinois State Fair
Illinois State Fairgrounds, 801 Sangamon Avenue
Springfield, IL
Friday, August 20, 10:00 AM CDT to 11:30 AM CDT
As part of the Illinois State Fair “Futures for Kids Day,” Secretary LaHood will join law enforcement and traffic safety advocates for the 2010 kickoff of Operation Teen Safe Driving Illinois. Secretary Lahood will tour agricultural exhibits, visit the Illinois State Police Tent, and meet with high school students who have been helping to spread the word about the dangers of distracted driving. The Illinois State Fair, which is operated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, attracted more than 700,000 visitors in 2009. The fair has been entertaining families and showcasing Illinois agriculture almost every year since its opening in 1853.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Deputy Administrator Marie Johns at the Indiana State Fair
Indiana State Fairgrounds (In front of the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand), 1202 East 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN
Wednesday August 18, 8:30 AM CDT to 10 AM CDT
At the Indiana State Fair’s “Farmer’s Day,” Small Business Administration (SBA) Deputy Administrator Marie Johns will attend the Indiana Farm Bureau’s Old-Fashioned Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Indiana FFA Foundation. Deputy Administrator Johns will also meet youth involved in the state’s FFA and 4-H programs for a tour of their project exhibits and discussion on youth entrepreneurship.
Stay tuned for blog posts and photos from upcoming State Fair visits on the White House blog.
