Fair Game with Robert Smith

It was going to be her coming out year as the new fair manager for the Hillsborough County Fair in Florida but 2020 had other plans. Today we talk with Suzanne Holcomb about the frustrations she faced plus her new dates and high hopes for 2021. All that and more!

Andrea Wiesenmeyer just took over her role as manager for the Jerome County Fair a few months ago. A brand new job in the middle of a pandemic? She may be out of her mind! Tune into today’s episode to find out.

Neal Snyder takes his Firefighter Training Show across the country entertaining audiences and making junior firefighters out of the kids in his show. He’s innovated his program with the addition of the Tiny Tanker which we talk about on the show. All that and more! Thanks for joining us.

Courtney Cox is the Fair and Special Event Coordinator for the Adams County Fair in Brighton, Colorado. Like so many others she has a long history in the fair industry from the livestock ring to fair management. We talk about being a young fair manager during a pandemic and the similar challenges we each face with our names. Plus! Did you know both Courtney and I were Disney World cast members? We talk about all that and more on today’s show.

Lisa Reiff has a long family history in the fair industry. That family history would eventually lead her to the Michigan Association of Fairs & Exhibitions where she is the executive director. In March of 2020 as the pandemic hit Lisa discovered things wouldn’t be all roses and flowers. (Listen to the show and you’ll understand). To learn more about the Michigan Association of Fairs visit www.mifairs.org.

Angela Miller has been the fair manager for the Roosevelt County Fair in Culbertson, Montana for 9 years. At first glance the fair doesn’t seem like your traditional county fair. There’s no carnival and entertainment consists of events such as a corn hole tournaments. But when you look deep, you realize the Roosevelt County Fair is about as traditional of an “Americana” county fair as you can get.

Today we welcome Jeannine Domeyer from the Delaware County Fair in Manchester, Iowa. Jeannine has been involved in the fair industry for 16 years. After cancelling in 2020 her community rallied around the fair to help raise money and support the fair. Her leadership and the hard work from her team helped successfully navigate the pandemic. She’s now looking forward to opening the gates in 2021.

Danny Grant is a lasso-twirlin’, joke spittin’, one-man cowboy comedy circus. He spent most of 2020 creating new show elements while patiently waiting for fairs to reopen. What many don’t realize? He has a family history in entertainment. We talk about all of that and more on today’s show.

Christine Iannotti is brand new to being a fair manager. She became fair manager of the St. Lucie County Fair in Florida in late 2019. Luckily for Christine, her dates snuck in right under the wire in 2020, concluding just a few days before Houston cancelled and the dominos began to fall. We talk about her experience navigating 2020, how she felt watching her colleagues have to cancel their fairs and how she managed her 2021 fair.

Cody Cashman is the fair manager for the Red River Valley Fair in North Dakota. His first challenge as manager? Navigate the Covid19 pandemic.