Convention News FAIRS ROCK ON at Florida Convention and


IAFE Zone II Meeting! Anyone in the Fair


industry knows that FAIRS ROCK and


that’s just what over 500 Fair folks did at this year’s 63rd Flor- ida Federation of Fairs Convention and IAFE Zone II Meeting. There were 37 Fairs represented from Florida and Zone II with over 330 Fair members. Our Associates also showed strong support with over 185 Associate members attending and over 80 booths in the Trade Show. The pre-convention activities started out on Wednesday, May


14th with the 14th Annual Giles Ellis Memorial Golf Tournament held at the beautiful Twin Eagles golf course in Naples (see article on page 5). This year’s Keynote Speaker, Dan Quiggle, kicked off the


event with a positive message titled “It CAN Be Done.” A spe- cial thanks to Populous for sponsoring this portion of the pro- gram. Dan received a standing ovation from the group - what a way to start the week! The ever popular President’s Party “The Hart Rock Café”


honoring this year’s President Gayle Hart kicked off the fun for the week with a lot


from the Presi- dent’s


C ommitte e chaired Theresa


of work Party by


Agri-


cola with the South


Fair. A spe- cial thanks to Belle


City


Amusements for their spon- sorship of this year’s event. Holding the


Zone II Meet- ing in conjunc- tion with Florida


the Con-


vention has been a “win-win” for both organizations. The Flor- ida Fairs benefit from the added knowledge of Fairs from out- side Florida through panels and round table discussions and the Zone II attendees get to enjoy some of our Florida sun- shine! The Associates play a valuable part in


the success of the event through their support and involvement in showcasing and the trade show.


There were 15


showcase acts throughout the convention with the grand finale being Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. represented


by


Oler Productions at the closing banquet. Showcase acts


presented during the President’s Party,


were Fri-


day’s Luncheon Saturday’s Luncheon, the


banquet and, new this year – on a stage in the Trade Show. There were over 80 booths in this year’s


trade show and Fairs could find everything they needed.


Robert Smith 8 Refreshment breaks, door


prizes, a silent auction, and showcase acts helped pull traffic into the show with the goal of making our Associates benefit from their participation.


This year’s Educational Sessions and Round Table Discus-


One of the greatest parts of the convention is getting to network with other people from other Fairs….seen here (left to right) are Judy Herstich, Osceola County Fair; Stacey Wade, Central Florida Fair; and Linda Tyner, Osceola County Fair.


Showcases are an important part of the Convention and IAFE Zone II meeting. A special thanks to all the acts that took the time to participate!


President’s Party Chairman Theresa Agricola “rocks” with President Gayle Hart and sponsors of the President’s Party, Belle City Amusements - Debbie Viscomi, Miss Mary, and Charles Panacek.


Florida


Ryan Wilkerson with Haas and Wilkerson visits with Past President Darwin Fuchs and his wife Mimi during the President’s Party


The Auction is an integral part of the Convention thanks to Lisa Dudding, Auction Chairman and committee members like Lee Stokes with the Citrus County Fair pictured here helping display the items during the Live Auction.


sions were facilitated by over 95 people from Florida Fairs, Zone II Fairs, and Associate members. There was a wealth of valuable information shared and hopefully everyone took home some new ideas. A great new feature was the mobile website that provided the convention program on everyone’s smart phone provided through a sponsorship with Saffire Events in a total redesign of the Federation’s website. The IAFE sponsored several workshops which included: The


Principles and Food and Beverages by Rey O’Day, NICA West; Competitive Exhibits—Sows, Stitches, Sunflowers & Everything In Between presented by Jessica Underberg, CFE, Erie County Fair, NY; and Customer Service & How To Get 100% Results by Norb Bartosik, CFE, Retired General Manager and CEO of the California Exposition and State Fair. This year’s annual banquet on Saturday evening was spon-


sored by EMC Tickets, LLC and awards were presented to vari- ous individuals. These included: A special President’s award to the Collier County Fair for all their hard work putting together the very successful annual golf tournament fundraiser. See page 12 for the other awards presented. After presenting the Past President’s plaque to Gayle, Rick


expressed his excitement about the year ahead and what an honor it is to serve the Florida Fairs. After the banquet, every- one was invited to a reception sponsored by the South Florida Fair honoring the new President, Hall of Fame Inductee, and Associate of Year where the festivities continued on.


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