The 2025 Loudoun County Fair is dedicated to Carly Griffith Wright!

It began in 2000 with a little lop-eared bunny named Carmel Cream.  Carly Griffith, now Carly Wright, was a brand new 4-Her eager to show her rabbit at the Loudoun County Fair.

As a youth 4-H member of the Loudoun Rabbit Club from 2000 through 2008, Carly enthusiastically participated in club meetings, presentations, clinics, service events, parades, and numerous American Rabbit Breeders Association rabbit shows across many states.  She grew her leadership skills by serving in club officer roles, chairing committees, planning activities, and mentoring other youths.  She was a member of the Teen Council helping 4-H staff with promotional events and countywide contests. Her dedication to 4-H led to being tapped as a 4-H All Star in 2006 and receiving the “I Dare You” award in 2007 which recognizes leadership potential and personal integrity.

During the course of her years as a 4-H member, Carly relished her time at the annual Loudoun County Fair, making friends, showing her rabbits, participating in Fair contests, and learning about other livestock projects.  She was an asset to her club leaders, helping with staging the barn, scheduling club duties, creating displays and coordinating educational demonstrations for the public.  Her contributions extended beyond the rabbit barn to wider Fair operations as well.  She served multiple years on the Youth Fair Committee—in 2005 as Youth Treasurer and in 2006 and 2007 as Youth Sykes Hall Chair.  She was often called upon to be the Fair’s youth spokesperson for media interviews.  As Miss Loudoun County Fair 2007, Carly actively promoted the Fair at community events across the county.  Additionally, she contributed to improving the fairgrounds by building and painting fences, painting parts of the Show Barn, cleaning and rearranging the jump shed and Sykes Hall storage areas, creating Fair historical displays, and fundraising for the new livestock barn after a tornado destroyed the old horse, rabbit and poultry barns.

In 2009 Carly began her undergrad studies at Virginia Tech but she still continued to volunteer for 4-H and the Fair.  She helped at club meetings during the year when she came home on school breaks, and in the summertime at the Fair she was often directing parking, organizing kids’ games, and volunteering in the Fair office.  After graduation in 2012, she became the Rabbit Club’s organizational leader and remained in that role through 2016.  She also served as the secretary on Loudoun Fair and Associates, Inc. (LFA) Board of Directors from 2014 through 2016. 

Carly started in her position as Loudoun’s 4-H Extension Agent in 2016.  Since then, she has worked diligently to expand youth participation at all levels of 4-H programming.  During her tenure, Loudoun has seen a significant increase in the number of 4-H All Stars, State Cabinet members, Youth Ambassadors, Youth in Action award winners, Leadership Council members and participants in the Virginia Association of Fairs Scholarship contests.  Carly has served on multiple state level 4-H boards and committees helping not only Loudoun’s youth, but youth across Virginia.  Currently she is a Northeast District 4-H Program Leader, State 4-H Cabinet Advisor, and Agent Advisor to the NOVA 4-H Educational Center Board of Directors.  She is also the Agent Advisor to the Glenwood Livestock Exposition which is held annually on the Loudoun fairgrounds. 

Carly continues to be a steadfast supporter of LFA and the Loudoun County Fair.  She is the 4-H liaison to the LFA Board and serves as 4-H advisor to their scholarship committee.   At the Fair every year, she assists with ribbon inventory, the Miss Loudoun County Fair pageant, wristband distribution at clean ups, and buyer check-out on auction night.  She helped implement the FairEntry software system which has streamlined the entry process for all the Fair’s shows.  She serves in one of the system’s primary data entry roles setting up the shows and recording results.  Carly edits and prints all the show programs and helps configure the sale order for the Livestock Auction.  Since 2010, she has organized and run the Fair’s cherished Round Robin competition.  Despite all these commitments, Carly still finds time for her most treasured Fair activity—watching and supporting the 4-H youth competitors in their shows.

Twenty five years ago a life of service began when a little girl got a rabbit at the Loudoun County Fair.  That little girl has grown into an inspiring woman who continues to positively influence youth in our Loudoun community and beyond.  Thank you, Carly, for your devotion to 4-H, the Fair and LFA.