"I turned grief into a harvest of joy!"

After growing up with a passion for the South Carolina State Fair, Nancy Smith, 69, found a special way to turn her love for the fair into a tribute to her late sister and a mission to help thousands of others!

- 

Nancy Smith is the first woman in 150 years to be named general manager of the South Carolina State Fair-and she's making it count!

Time to go to the fair!” Nancy Smith recalls her father shouting through the house, sending a thrill of excitement through her heart. Every October, he’d pile Nancy and her four sisters into the family station wagon for a day of Ferris wheel rides, sweet treats and laughter at the South Carolina State Fair—a tradition that would leave a permanent imprint of lasting joy on Nancy’s life.

As she grew older, Nancy carried on the annual celebration with her sisters and in 1983, she even began taking vacation from her day job to volunteer in the fair’s home and craft department.

But in October 1988, Nancy’s world shattered. Her sister Alacia passed away at just 40, after a grueling seven-month battle with breast cancer. I have to do something with this grief, Nancy thought. There has to be a way to honor Alacia. She could never have imagined that her love for her sister—and passion for the state fair—would one day become a force to help thousands of others.