Commissioners elect Audra Savage to final Fair Board seat

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners voted Aug. 4 to elect area homesteader Audra Savage to the Fair Board, following the resignation of Quentin Ducken earlier this year. 

Savage will complete the remainder of Ducken’s four-year term, serving on the board until May 6, 2028.

Savage’s appointment marks the end of a monthslong process to fill three Fair Board vacancies left by resignations, including that of Staci McBrayer, who left to take on the role of fair manager. Commissioners Brian Domke and Ron Korn conducted each interview in various public meetings, previously selecting Sarah Mitchell and Zach Spohn as new board members.

“I just want to also thank everyone else who applied and interviewed,” said Domke at the Aug. 4 meeting. “There are a lot of really passionate people who contribute a lot of their time for the fair, even if it’s informally, and that is very much appreciated.”

In her July 28 interview, Savage said that the fair “embodies” who she is through her commitment to homesteading and a rural lifestyle. In her free time, Savage gardens and preserves food and has dedicated the past 30 years to raising and homeschooling her five children.

“I am a prepper, you know, or whatever you want to say. I just think that we need to be able to take care of ourselves and grow our own food and raise our own animals, and I think the fair shows that to people, especially in the 4-H program,” said Savage. 

“It gives the kids the ability to learn business and grow an animal to sell and to save money, and it teaches them how … much it costs, really, to have the kind of lifestyle,” she added.

Aside from her background with the fair and 4-H, the commissioners selected Savage for her experience with social media marketing and her current enrollment in accounting classes, with Domke adding that “fiscal aptitude, accountability, responsibility are something that we continue to talk about as being highly important.”

The commissioners voted 2-0 to elect Savage. Commissioner Asia Williams, who did not participate in the Fair Board interviews due to scheduling conflicts, abstained from the vote.