Convention News
“A CONFERENCE YOU CAN’T REFUSE!” Was the theme at the Florida
Federation of Fairs Convention and IAFE Zone II Meeting!
Evidently over 500 “Fair Folks” agreed that this was a conference they couldn’t refuse as this year’s 64th Florida Federation of Fairs Conven- tion and IAFE Zone II Meeting set record numbers. There were 35 Fairs represented from Florida, 7 Fairs from Zone II with over 320 Fair members and 170 Associate members in attendance. This year’s trade show featured over 87 booths – a new record high for this event. This year’s Keynote Speaker, Mark Mayfield, kicked off the event with a positive message titled “Mom’s
Rules.” A special thanks to Populous for sponsoring this portion of the program. Mark received a standing ovation from the group - what a way to start the week!
Thank You Melissa and Frank Zaitshik
The ever popular President’s Party “The Godfather” honoring this year’s President Rick Vymlatil kicked off the fun for the week with a lot of work from the Presi- dent’s Party Committee chaired by Teresa Agricola with the South Florida Fair. The event was sponsored by Wade Shows. It was definitely “an event you couldn’t refuse!” Holding the Zone II Meeting in conjunction with the Florida Convention has been a “win- win” for both organizations. The Florida Fairs benefit from the added knowledge of Fairs from outside Florida through panels and round table discussions and the Zone II attendees get to enjoy some of our Florida sunshine! A special thanks to Reithoffer Shows for help- ing us celebrate Zone II’s participation with a Welcome Reception. This year’s Educational Sessions were sponsored by Haas & Wilkerson, the Round Table Discussions were co-sponsored by Capitol International Productions; Miami Dade County Fair & Expo; and North American Midway. Much of the success of the
Convention and Zone Meeting goes to the involvement of the attendees. Over 65 people from Florida Fairs, Zone II Fairs, and Associate members participated in the program as speakers, moderators, or round table facilitators along with a line-up of IAFE and other out-of-state speakers. 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 Federa- tion’s website. The IAFE sponsored several workshops which included: Hands On, Minds On Agriculture by Becky Brashear; Seeing straight In A Cross Eyed World by Gary Berg; and Fairgrounds Beautification as Easy as A,B,C and Grand Champion Competitive Exhibits by Jill Albanese with the Wiscon- sin State Fair. Other featured speakers were Charles Atkinson with the Kansas Association of Fairs doing workshops on Competitive Exhibits From The Ground Up and How Well Does Your Board Work Together. NICA sponsored a panel discussion on Finding The Balance – Profitable Conces- sions + Successful Fairs and OABA sponsored a panel discussion on Fairs and Midways – Let’s Strengthen Our Partnership. Bobby McLamb also presented a two part working on Finding the Leader in You and Goal Setting. In addition to these featured speakers, Florida Fairs, Zone II Fairs, and local resources pro- duced a wide variety of workshops and round table discussions that gave everyone ideas to take back to their own Fair. This year’s annual banquet on Saturday evening was sponsored by EMC Tickets, LLC and
awards were presented to various individuals. Following the presentation of awards, President Rick Vymlatil turned the gavel over to Tom Umiker from the Greater Hillsborough County Fair. After presenting the Past President’s plaque to Rick, Rick asked the group to join in a “toast” to honor our incoming President, Hall of Fame honoree, and Associate of the Year recipient. The Toast was sponsored by Arnold’s Amusements, the Hillsborough County Fair, and the Southwest FL and Lee County Fair. Tom expressed his excitement about the year ahead and what an honor it is to serve the Florida Fairs. After the banquet, everyone closed out the convention in the Hospitality Suite which was spon-
sored by The Dennis Lee Show. The hospitality suite has been a contin- ued success at the convention. This year’s Hospitality Suite was sponsored by The Dennis Lee Show with refreshments also provided by several member Fairs... Everyone seemed to enjoy the opportuni- ty to socialize and network after hours.
Rick & Denise Vymlatil’s grandson Lucas Harnek led the invocation for the banquet.
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