Rabbit barn volunteer brings big heart to tending bunnies and helping kids show at the fair
By Alex Hodson
Blue Ribbon Stories intern
Click on photos for more information!
Name: Joey Banta
Job description: Volunteer at the Northwest Washington Fair
Unofficial job title: Rabbit security
Hometown: Everson, Washington
As far as Joey Banta is concerned, making sure bunnies in the Northwest Washington Fair rabbit barn are happy is the most important job he does all summer. A longtime volunteer (20 years in 2026) in the rabbit department, he laughs as he calls himself — in mock-superhero tones — “rabbit security.”
His duties range from decorating the staging area with hay bales and sacks of animal feed to coaching first-time 4-H exhibitors. The best part for him, he says, is working alongside his wife, Shari, rabbit superintendent for 27 years in 2026, and daughter, Christine. The family feeds and moves rabbits around depending on where they are needed for judging and keeps the barn swept and clean.
Easily recognizable at the fair by his “Rabbit Security” shirt, Banta takes a week off from work to help manage the barn.
“Best part of being rabbit security is that all of our family is involved in this.”
Fair factor: “It’s important that kids learn about the agricultural end of it. Just being involved in it with other children and the competition of it. It’ll help them be more responsible as adults.”
‘I wouldn’t miss it for nothing’: “Best part of being rabbit security is that all of our family is involved in this, and we get to be together for a whole week.”
Hardest part of the job: “Keeping the floors clean.”
Growth opportunity: Showing at the fair “teaches kids responsibility, teaches them growth, teaches them how an animal will actually survive. They learn the importance of being in some place at the right time.”
Planting seeds: Banta’s daughter Christine works with the younger kids. “She went through this program. I think it’s important that exhibitors return and teach the younger kids.”
Hare-raising moments: According to Banta, rabbits may bite, so it’s his job to make sure visitors don’t reach into the cages.
If this rabbit security thing doesn’t pan out: The Banta family’s connection to agriculture goes beyond their work at the fair. Both Banta and his wife work as truck drivers, delivering loads of molasses to dairies throughout the Pacific Northwest and the lower mainland of Canada.
Hoppy-go-lucky: “I’m just being here, keeping the kids happy.”