IAFE Convention
Marla Calico Named IAFE President & CEO
SPRINGFIELD, MO — The International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) is proud to announce Marla Calico as the new president and CEO of the or- ganization. Ms. Calico took over the position on Jan. 1,
2016, from outgoing President & CEO Jim Tucker. “We are pleased and excited Marla is taking over for Jim. We did a
very serious national search, conducted several interviews and are confi- dent Marla is the correct person to take the reins of IAFE at this im- portant time in history,” stated 2015 IAFE Chair John Sykes of the East Texas State Fair in Tyler. “There is no doubt she has the knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm to move the IAFE to an even level.”
Ms. Calico joined the IAFE in 2006 as director of education and has
served as chief operating officer since 2014. Prior to joining the IAFE professional staff, she served as general manager of the Ozark Empire Fair in Springfield, Mo. She earned her Certified Fair Executive designa- tion in 1988 and in 2003 she served as chair of the IAFE. She was in- ducted into the IAFE Hall of Fame in 2012. The process was led by a Search Committee consisting of the IAFE
Executive Committee -- First Vice Chair and Chair of the Search Com- mittee Kent Hojem of the Washington State Fair; IAFE Chair Sykes; Second Vice Chair Becky Brashear of the Maryland State Fair; Past Chair Marlene Pierson-Jolliffe of the State Fair of Virginia; and Past Chair Debbie Dreyfus-Schronk of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition -- and added 30-year fair veteran Jerry Hammer of the Minnesota State
Jimmy Nussbaumer receives Errol McKoy Scholarship
At the IAFE Convention
in Las Vegas Jimmy Nuss- baumer of the Lake County Fair received an Errol McKoy Scholarship of $500 to cover the costs of enrollment in the Institute of Fair Management during the 125th Annual Convention of the International Associa- tion of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). Launched in 2007, The Institute consists of a series of 36
short courses covering the areas of core competency nec- essary for today’s professional and volunteers involved in the production of their agricultural fair. Courses cover management, risk management, marketing, programming, operations and year-round facility usage. Errol McKoy, the past president and general manager of the State Fair of Texas in Dallas has donated 20 scholarships of $500 to each recipient. Since 2007, McKoy has personally donat- ed $10,000 to the scholars in the program. Jimmy was one of 20 recipients of the Errol McKoy
Scholarship at the IAFE Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 2, 2015. Currently, there are more than 215 indi- viduals enrolled in the Institute of Fair Management from across the U.S. and Canada. Jimmy is the First Vice Presi- dent for the Lake County Fair.
22 FAIRCRACKER-SPRING 2016
Fair and Young Professionals Initiative (YPI) Representative Jessica Underberg of the Erie County Fair (New York). Executive search firm Witt/Kieffer sought leaders from around the world to be considered for the position and presented them to the Search Committee. According to Hojem, “It was exceedingly critical that an exhaustive
search be undertaken for the new IAFE president and CEO. This organi- zation and the fair industry in general will continue to face increasingly complex and diverse issues. The need to identify and engage the best individual to lead this organization into the future was always our prima- ry focus. Marla represents those qualities we deem paramount to insure a successful future for our organization.” Calico holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agri-Business from Missouri State
higher
University and throughout her long career at the Ozark Empire Fair served the Springfield community as a volunteer and/or board member of numerous civic organizations. She has been recognized as an Out- standing Young Alumni from Missouri State University and as one of Springfield Business Journal’s “Most Influential Women.” “I’m honored to have been selected to serve the IAFE members as the
next President and CEO and look forward to a bright future for the Asso- ciation. We have a dedicated and seasoned staff who are excited to ex- pand the use of technology to deliver education, facilitate the exchange of ideas, and enhance communication with our fantastic members around the globe,” said Calico. She also noted that among the top priorities for the Association in 2016 will be increased fundraising for the IAFE Edu- cation Foundation to support expanded educational programming, a series of “listening” sessions in various settings to get critical input from members on issues most important to them, as well as a focus on advo- cacy for agricultural fairs in governmental, media and corporate sectors.
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