Amador County’s Exhibit took both the Silver and Superintendent's awards at this year’s State Fair. The exhibit, titled, “Picture Yourself in Amador County,” was designed by local sign expert Kam Merzlak and built by Merzlak and Doug Wescott, a retired metal fabricator. The ten-foot rotating carousel features eight, 4-by-6-foot photos showcasing the diverse areas of Amador County, including Daffodil Hill, historic buildings from Sutter Creek and Jackson, Silver Lake, the Kennedy Mine, Black Chasm, and the Sutter Gold Mine. Local photographers contributed to the exhibit, including Eleanor Caputo, Craig Fouts, Carolyn Fox, Larry Angier, Larry Cenatto, Lisa Boulton, Kirkwood Ski Resort, and Merzlak himself. In addition to photographers, many local individuals and organizations made the entire project possible.
The exhibit also featured two large flat screen TV’s, one displaying an aerial video from high above Amador County, and the other running a slideshow of additional pictures. Merzlak says the idea for the carousel came to him after learning that their booth would be “sandwiched in-between” several other larger county’s exhibits, such as Solano, Sacramento and San Diego counties. “It’s important to note the Superintendent’s award and that we were up against these larger counties who typically have upwards of $150,000 to spend, including whole teams of designers and engineers. We were all volunteers,” says Merzlak. “We started in June and Doug (Wescott) worked on this thing every day for two months. If it weren’t for Doug, this wouldn’t have happened,” states Merzlak. The exhibit was assembled in Wescott’s garage, and then disassembled for the drive to CalExpo in Sacramento. “We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, driving down there!” joked Merzlak. The project was funded by a 10,000-dollar donation from the Board of Supervisors, who Merzlak says was “ecstatic” after seeing a scale model of the exhibit, and also through a 2500-dollar donation from Stan Lukowicz. You can view the exhibit at CalExpo through September 1st in County Exhibit Building A.
Amador County’s Exhibit took both the Silver and Superintendent's awards at this year’s State Fair. The exhibit, titled, “Picture Yourself in Amador County,” was designed by local sign expert Kam Merzlak and built by Merzlak and Doug Wescott, a retired metal fabricator. The ten-foot rotating carousel features eight, 4-by-6-foot photos showcasing the diverse areas of Amador County, including Daffodil Hill, historic buildings from Sutter Creek and Jackson, Silver Lake, the Kennedy Mine, Black Chasm, and the Sutter Gold Mine. Local photographers contributed to the exhibit, including Eleanor Caputo, Craig Fouts, Carolyn Fox, Larry Angier, Larry Cenatto, Lisa Boulton, Kirkwood Ski Resort, and Merzlak himself. In addition to photographers, many local individuals and organizations made the entire project possible. 
The exhibit also featured two large flat screen TV’s, one displaying an aerial video from high above Amador County, and the other running a slideshow of additional pictures. Merzlak says the idea for the carousel came to him after learning that their booth would be “sandwiched in-between” several other larger county’s exhibits, such as Solano, Sacramento and San Diego counties. “It’s important to note the Superintendent’s award and that we were up against these larger counties who typically have upwards of $150,000 to spend, including whole teams of designers and engineers. We were all volunteers,” says Merzlak. “We started in June and Doug (Wescott) worked on this thing every day for two months. If it weren’t for Doug, this wouldn’t have happened,” states Merzlak. The exhibit was assembled in Wescott’s garage, and then disassembled for the drive to CalExpo in Sacramento. “We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, driving down there!” joked Merzlak. The project was funded by a 10,000-dollar donation from the Board of Supervisors, who Merzlak says was “ecstatic” after seeing a scale model of the exhibit, and also through a 2500-dollar donation from Stan Lukowicz. You can view the exhibit at CalExpo through September 1st in County Exhibit Building A.
