Gateway Services unveils new shake-up flavor for fair

Everything came down to one vote.

In the end, there could be only one winner. Raspberry is your champion.

After weeks of the public voicing their opinion, raspberry will be the new featured flavor at Gateway Services’ annual lemon shake-up stand during the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair. The flavor beat out three other contenders — cherry, mango and Arnold Palmer. About 250 people cast their votes.

The lemon shake-up stand serves as Gateway Services’ most beloved and most important fundraiser. With the newly added flavor, the hope is to juice business and give people a sweet incentive to stop by the stand.

“For Gateway Services, this is our longest-running fundraiser, and our most successful one,” said Becky Allen, director of transportation for Johnson County director of transportation for Access Johnson County, a subsidiary of Gateway Services. “It runs seven full days. This is a lot of work, but it’s seven days, so you have seven days of selling and you get the whole community involved.

“People really look forward to it.”

The scent of fresh lemon wafted from the basement, up the stairs and out the open door behind First Christian Church in Bargersville on Thursday. Following the pleasant aroma led to a Johnson County fair tradition in progress.

Dozens of volunteers parked at tables in front of juicing machines, squeezing thousands of cut lemons to get the juice inside. That juice was jugged, sealed, and would be refrigerated until it was needed as the foundation of one of the fair’s most beloved traditions — Gateway Services’ lemon shake-ups.

During the annual Squeezathon, volunteers juiced 11,880 lemons in preparation.

“We couldn’t do any of this without the community. We have 200 volunteers to help, from the squeezing to working at the stand. We couldn’t do it by ourselves,” Allen said.

Gateway Services served its first lemon shake-up at the fair in 1972. The organization serves people with mental or physical disabilities, offering employment programs, respite services and community outings, among other activities. They also run Access Johnson County, the public transit service.

The shake-up stand was envisioned as a way to promote and spotlight people with disabilities in the public eye while raising money. Proceeds from the shakeups are part of the funding for the $68,616 local match needed for Access Johnson County buses.

They’ve sold the treats almost every year since, with the exception of two years during the COVID pandemic. The shake-up stand is a well-oiled machine at this point, with all of the processes set in stone, starting with the Squeezathon and extending through a small army of volunteers who man the stand throughout fair week.

Last year, Gateway Services shook things up a little bit, adding a “Surprize Flavor” to its classic lineup of lemon and strawberry shake-ups. Organizers took it a step further this time around, giving the public a chance to vote on a third flavor to serve during the fair.

Four candidates were identified, and people could vote for their favorite by donating $3 on Gateway Services’ new becauseOne page. Each $1 donated allocates one vote to the flavor of the voter’s choice. Voting for the new flavor ended on July 5.

Proceeds from the new flavor are part of Gateway Services’ fundraising for their upcoming appearance on Dancing with the Johnson County Stars. Their goal this year is to raise money to resurface their parking lot and install new flooring for the day room that serves county residents with disabilities.

The competition drew a good response, but Gateway Services organizers are already thinking about ways to make it better for next year.

“We’re starting for 2025, they vote out there in the fair. We made little ballot boxes, and we’ll just do it for a whole year,” Allen said.