By Zach Spicer
The 2025 Reality Fair is a wrap.
Nearly 600 eighth graders from nine Jackson County schools visited the event throughout the day Dec. 5 in the gymnasiums at Seymour Middle School.
The Reality Fair is a simulation of an adult’s financial life that allows youth to experience making financial decisions and managing money. They can experience what it is like to manage an account at a financial institution, make money-related decisions, obtain a loan, manage debt and more. For the youth, a Reality Fair can be an eye-opening, exciting and fun way to build financial knowledge and skills.
In each gym, after receiving a binder with one of 18 occupations and a worksheet, the students visited 12 booths. Those included credit card, transportation, housing Part 1, housing Part 2, sharing and charitable giving, pets, children, household spending, health care, cellphone, bank and the unexpected.
At each booth, one or two community members helped guide the students as they made decisions. We would like to thank the 64 people who helped. They are:
3 to 1 Video: Shaun Kendall
AISIN USA Mfg. Inc.: Marnie Dirks
Bee Mortgage App: Brittany Percival
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Indiana Realty: Cat Kick
Blue & Co.: Carson Fleetwood, Karen Dringenburg, Debbie Herbert
Blueshift Marketing: Jaredith Mize
Central Security & Communications: Cole Brewer
Child Care Network: Kate Garrity
City of Seymour: January Rutherford, Tracey Cole, Allycen Wheeler
Community Foundation of Jackson County: Jordan Richart
Cummins Inc.: Stacey Brummett, Danielle Kareus
Duke Energy: Tom DeBaun
Goecker Construction Inc.: Arin Hupp
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance: Steven Wingler
Integrity Mortgage Group: P.J. Stein
JCBank: Karen Haas, Heidi Millender, Richard Bicknell, Amanda Pratt, Emerald Robinson, Megan Grunden, Allison Vannarsdall, Meredith Ponce
JCIDC: Jim Plump
Jackson County Chamber: Sasha Sitterding
Jackson County government: Jeff Hubbard
Jackson County United Way: Emily Engelking, Stephanie Strothmann, Liz Copeland, Michelle Kleber
Mandy Rohdert Esthetics: Mandy Rohdert
Old National Bank: Amber Schrader, Zenda Brooks
Pet Supplies Plus: Tammy Barker, Tina Hacker, Yesenia Otero
Royalty Roofing: Jared Clark
Schneck Medical Center: Heidi Wheatley, Lizzie Vogel, Brandon Sunbury, Skylar Earley, Jena Hanks, Jenna Thomas, Amy Hatton, Adam Jablonski
Seymour Community School Corp.: Marykate Helmsing
The Peoples Bank: Farrah Richey, Will Spray
The Point: Kelli Robinson
Toyota Material Handling: Matt Gilbert
Vincennes University: Brian Sawyers
Community members: Lois Bukowski, Terrye Davidson, Mary Carlson, Lori McDonald, Dave Thompson, Kathy Sage, Susan Jablonski, Melanie Pumphrey
Thanks to all of the students who participated and took this seriously, and hopefully, it was a fun learning experience. Thanks also to all of the schools for attending. They were Brownstown Central Middle School, Crothersville Junior-Senior High School, Immanuel Lutheran School, Lutheran Central School, Medora Junior-Senior High School, St. Ambrose Catholic School, St. John’s Sauers Lutheran School, Sandy Creek Christian Academy and Seymour Middle School. Special thanks to Seymour Middle School for allowing us to host this important event there.