One of our favorite places to be each summer? The Adams County Fair.

Yes, it’s hot. Yes, the days are long. And yes, we love every minute of it.

What may look like carnival rides and lemonade shakeups is actually a masterclass in leadership.

You see it in the 4-H kids who spent months preparing their projects and now stand proudly beside them. You see it in the volunteers who show up early and stay late, often unnoticed but never unneeded. We see it in the small business owners standing at their booths who greet customers with energy, even after a full day in the heat.

And I’m reminded: Leadership isn’t often loud. It often isn't in a title. It’s in the showing up. The follow-through. The presence.

Sometimes it looks like pushing wood chips and manure off a barn floor so the band can play on a Saturday night. Sometimes it looks like sticky fingers handing over a milkshake to a customer. And sometimes, it looks like picking up a hula hoop to be part of the circus.

The fair may only last a week, but the leadership we see if we look around stays with us all year long.

To the volunteers, kids, parents, and everyone who makes this community tradition possible, thank you. You lead in ways that matter.