Despite more than two days of rain, September's Georgia State Fair announced Tuesday that it turned a profit of $50,225 this year, half of which will go toward charity. The proceeds are down from about $62,000 last year and about $101,000 two years ago, said Harold Carlisle, the fair's executive director. Carlisle said the fair lost about $55,000 in 1997 and made roughly that amount in 1999. "Considering the fact that we had a lot of rain, it went well," Carlisle said. Organizers of the state fair, held in Central City Park, moved this year's event dates to the week before the Georgia National Fair, which opened in Perry the first week in October and draws about five times the crowd. Carlisle said he frequently hears that his competition to the south draws a more favorable comparison for access and cleanliness. He said the Macon fair spent about $20,000 on improvements this year, including painting the livestock barn and paving part of the midway. "That is what brings people back, and they say so," Carlisle said. "So I made an all-out effort this year to clean the Georgia State Fair." The fair has been operated since 1942 by the Exchange Club of Macon. The club has spent $642,684 on improvements to Central City Park and lease payments, not including this year, according to an Exchange Club document. The club has given $1.15 million to area charities and organizations, the document says. That amount does not include donations made this year. While half of this year's profit will go to charity, Carlisle said 25 percent will go to the city of Macon's general fund. Another 25 percent goes into the fair's operating account, but those funds amount to only a fraction of the fair's annual expenses. The fair cost $351,614 this year, with most of that spent locally, Carlisle said. Vendors and patrons contributed "tens of thousands of dollars" to local merchants, according to fair officials. The fair received $8,000 from the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism, but no money from the city or the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Carlisle said. A survey of the parking lot revealed vehicles from 87 different counties in Georgia and seven other states, according to a press release from the fair. The 2003 Georgia State Fair is scheduled for Sept. 22-28.