Perez named fair ambassador

Busy Newberg teen adds to her growing list of accomplishments

Considering she usually does a handful of 4-H projects and shows a variety of animals for FFA, the week of the county fair is not only recent Newberg High School graduate Sasha Perez’s favorite, but one of the busiest.

This year, part of June and the whole month of July will be dedicated to the fair, as Perez has been selected as one of three Yamhill County Fair ambassadors.

Perez and her fellow ambassadors, Yamhill-Carlton senior Liberty Greenlund and recent Yamhill-Carlton grad Austin Lebsock-Binz, are spreading the word about the event at various festivals and civic organizations throughout the county for this year’s fair, which will run July 29-Aug. 1.

“Every year I look forward to that one special week — the county fair — interacting with the public, spending time with friends, helping others with their Fair projects,” Perez said. “As an ambassador, my goal is to bring my school and county together to experience the incredible feeling of community that seems to exist only at our county fair.”

Perez is an accomplished member of both 4-H and FFA. In addition to being named Outstanding Yamhill County 4-H Member of the Year in 2011 and 2013, she is a national-level competitive shooter, having placed third in rifle at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Championships. Unfortunately a back injury has forced her to switch to air pistol, in which she turned in a top-20 at the Junior Olympics this year.

An active participant in the fair the past eight years, Perez has won championships in poultry and pigeon showmanship and been named master showman at the fair twice.

“I’m honored to be a part of it,” Perez said of the ambassador program. “I’ve known a couple of the previous ambassadors and I’ve just seen what they’ve done in the past, so I’m just really excited to be a part of that.”

Each Ambassador receives a $1,000 scholarship, with Perez also earning the Oregon Fairs Foundation Scholarship, becoming the first from Newberg High School to do so.

Although Perez plans to stay active by volunteering with 4-H and FFA clubs in the Corvallis area while a student at Oregon State, she plans to pursue a career as an English teacher by majoring in English and education.

“I’ve always been drawn toward English, it’s always been what I’m good at,” Perez said. “I always loved reading and been really into literature, so I definitely knew I wanted to have something to do with that in the future. Teaching is my way of being able to give back for everything I’ve gotten but still have that English side to it.”