Let’s Learn “Til The Cows Come Home” Was the theme at the Florida
Convention News Federation of Fairs Convention and IAFE Zone II Meeting! Over 500 “Fair Folks” came with the attitude “Let’s Learn ‘Til The
Cows Come Home” at this year’s 65th Florida Federation of Fairs Con- vention and IAFE Zone II Meeting setting record num- bers. There were 34 Florida Fairs represented with 342 attendees, 13 Fairs from Zone II with 32 attendees (a record attendance since the Zone II Meeting was merged with the FL Federation Convention), and 196 Associate members in attendance. This year’s trade show featured 92 booths – a new record high for this event. The pre-convention activities
The Convention planning starts way before convention when the Manatee County Fair group – Wylene Rickley, Cindy Patterson, Jon Neuhauser, and Dan West help sort and organ- ize all the tickets for the convention registration packets. This crew has been doing this for
about 5 years now – a special thanks to all of them!
started on Wednesday, May 11th with the 16th Annual Giles Ellis Memorial Golf Tournament held at the beauti- ful St. John’s Golf Course in
St. Augustine on a beautiful “Florida” day. See page 13. This year’s Keynote Speaker, Dave Okerlund, kicked off the event
with a message titled “The Joys Of Stress.” A special thanks to Popu- lous for sponsoring this portion of the program. The ever popular President’s Party “Join Us For An Udderly Good
Time” honoring this year’s President Tom Umiker suffered a minor setback when a fire in the trade show caused the party to be cancelled. The President’s Party Committee chaired by Theresa Agricola with the South Florida Fair had planned an awesome event – filled with fun, but maybe next year……. The event was sponsored by Arnold Amuse- ments, Robinson Racing Pigs, The Firefighter Show, and the Greater Hillsborough County Fair. Holding the Zone II Meeting in conjunction with the Florida Conven-
tion has been a “win-win” for both organizations. The Florida Fairs ben- efit 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 Meggers Road Con- cessions and the Southwest Florida Fair Zone II’s participation with a Welcome Reception.
for helping us celebrate
The Associate of the Year award was presented to Sharon and Randy Ross with Robinson’s Racing Pigs who have supported the Federation and fair industry for many years. Pictured: Tom Umiker, Sharon and Randy Ross, Albert Mon- tes, Chairman
Hall of Fame Inductee Clark Converse The Florida Federation Hall of Fame inductee for 2016 was Clark Converse, Manager of the Pasco County Fair and a Fed- eration Past President who remains very active in the Federa- tion. Pictured at left: Clark’s wife Renee, Jeanne Keaton 2015 Recipient, Clark, Tom Umiker, President.
IAFE Scholarship Award
We were honored to have Kent Hojem, Chairman of IAFE, join us and appreciated his support and comments.
A special thanks to Nancy Smith, IAFE Zone II Director, for encourag- ing so many Zone II Fairs to join us this year!
Dave Okerlund – Keynote Speaker
Winning the IAFE Fair Management Scholarship was Lorie Stinson with the South Florida Fair. The Schol- arship was sponsored by North American Midway Enter- tainment. Pictured with Lorie is Bill Olson, Scholarship Chairman and Tom Umiker, President
FAIRCRACKER-SUMMER 2016 9
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