Longtime fair manager Lynelle Christiani stepped down from her post Tuesday. (The Enterprise/AUSTIN JOHNSON).
ONTARIO – Malheur County Fairgrounds Manager Lynelle Christiani stepped down from her post effective Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Christiani served as the fairgrounds manager for six years but said in her resignation letter she felt the resignation was “necessary to achieve a healthier work/life balance.”
“The job here is a 24-7 job, there is no other way around it. Something breaks over the weekend or at midnight, I am the person who is called. It was just too much,” said Christiani Tuesday.
Christiani said another factor in her decision to depart is her perception of a lack of support from the county.
“The county needs to partner with the fair board and we haven’t seen as much of that as I’d like. That is, unfortunately, the truth of the matter,” said Christiani.
Christiani said she will begin her new job as the director of Four Rivers Cultural Center this week. She will replace longtime cultural center director Matt Stringer, who is scheduled to retire.
“If I felt I was appreciated and we were really going in the right direction I would absolutely stay. But it is time to save my sanity,” said Christiani.
Christiani said her “heart is in this fair, it is something enormously important for this community.”
“I am a simple country girl and I think what we are doing here is beneficial to the county,” said Christiani.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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