(Click on the Fair picture to go to the Fair Website)

Last year, the Fair set many records. The two most important ones were attendance and proceeds for Community Service projects and cash grants. The attendance in 2005 was 240,036. The proceeds for service projects and cash grants were $500,200.




Community Service Day Grant Recipients
[See List]

Club President Wilbur L. (Bill) Rucker served as the first Fair Corporation President. In 1957 the Exchange Club of Charleston and the Agricultural Society co-sponsored the Charleston County Fair. The carnival was contracted with the James E. Strates Shows and was held at Stoney Field, the site of previous county fairs. In February 1958, a fire destroyed the main exhibit building along with all the equipment stored there. The Fair Board negotiated with the City of Charleston for use of Stoney Field and Johnson-Hagood Stadium to conduct the 1958 Fair and contracted the midway with Amusements of America. This association continues today with the Vivona Brothers, owners of Amusements of America. In 1959 the Exchange Club operated the fair at a site on Spruill Avenue. This fair is the only one on record where it rained every day for the duration of the fair. Amusements of America stayed on a second week in an effort to help the fair cover its expenses. Again, the Fair Board appointed a search committee to locate a suitable place to operate future fairs. The committee found several sites. The preferable site was located at what is now Ashley Plaza Mall, but because of vocal objections from area residents the site was eliminated from consideration. The other site was a 44-acre tract on Dorchester Road, owned by the Charleston Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. A lease was negotiated and the property was eventually purchased. The Fair operated at this site for eighteen years. In 1972 the Fair Board learned the Charleston Area Transportation Study Committee (CHATS) planned to build the now-existing Mark Clark Expressway (I-526) across a portion of the fair grounds leaving the Fair without parking. For the third time, a search committee was formed to locate another site for the fairgrounds. The committee located a 125-acre tract near Ladson. With a five-year installment note from the C&S Bank the Fair Board purchased and developed the land, hiring the firm of Wilbur Smith and Associates to design the new fairground. Construction on the Ladson site began in 1976 and the first fair was held in 1979. The Dorchester Road property was subdivided into a commercial park and sold. Funds generated from the sale of this property were put into the new fairground. Exchange Park currently comprises approximately 165 acres including parking for about 9,000 vehicles. The landscaped grounds of the Park has a paved midway, sixteen buildings ranging from a 4,850 seat amphitheater to a 25,000 square foot exhibit hall, ten permanent food booths and a center lake system, which lends the site to many off-season events and concerts. Last year, the Fair set many records. The two most important ones were attendance and proceeds for Community Service projects and cash grants. The attendance in 2002 was 229,937 compared to 2001's figure of 221,246. The proceeds for service projects and cash grants increased to $424,786, compared to 2001's figure of $325,000.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In 1970 the Club purchased a facility on the corner of Calhoun Street and Ashley Avenue for use by the Charleston Chapter of the American Cancer Society to provide overnight accommodations for cancer patients and their families while receiving cancer treatment at local hospitals. In 1982 the Club donated the facility to the local cancer chapter. Since its meager beginnings in 1957, Fair proceeds have funded approximately $4.37 million dollars for the Club's community service projects and cash grants to other charitable organizations. The 2002 Fair produced $424,786 for community service projects and cash grants. The Club has provided financial support to many local charities and service organizations.