Audrey Savage interviews for Bonner County fair board seat, highlights 4‑H roots and community outreach

Audrey Savage, a fair board applicant, told the interview panel on July 28 that the county fair “embodies who I am,” citing decades of involvement in 4‑H, home food preservation and homesteading that she said would inform her service on the board. “I am a mom of 5… I’m a homeschool mom…I’m a homesteader,” Savage said in her opening remarks, and described raising chickens, lambs and rabbits as part of family projects.

Savage said her experience with youth livestock projects taught business and animal‑care lessons she would bring to the fair. She described 4‑H as giving “kids ability to learn business and grow an animal… and it teaches them how much it costs” to sustain that work. When asked about experience managing budgets, she said she helped run her husband’s real‑estate business and is taking accounting classes, but she also told the panel she has “not worked a full time job in 30 years,” characterizing much of her experience as household‑ and family‑based bookkeeping.

Panelists asked about board availability and relevant skills. Savage said she has no scheduling conflicts with the board’s twice‑monthly meetings and that, while she does not have formal facilities‑management experience, she previously managed rental properties roughly 20 years ago. A commissioner noted the board had recently added a member with detailed financial experience and said additional members with community outreach skills could still be valuable.

The commissioners explained next steps: the panel will discuss applicants and bring a recommendation to the next regular Tuesday business meeting for a board vote; Savage and one other applicant remain under consideration and the decision was expected within two weeks. The interview concluded at 3:26 p.m.