NEBRASKA STATE FAIR BOARD Nebraska State Fair*501 E Fonner Park Rd, Ste 200*PO Box 1387*Grand Island, NE*68801*

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1 NEBRASKA STATE FAIR BOARD Nebraska State Fair*501 E Fonner Park Rd, Ste 200*PO Box 1387*Grand Island, NE*68801* MEETING MINUTES October 10, :00 p.m. Board room in the Nebraska Building located at Fonner Park, Grand Island NE A regular monthly meeting of the Nebraska State Fair Board was held on Friday, October 10, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. Public notice of this meeting was published in the September 29 & 30, 2014, issues of the Grand Island Independent newspaper and posted to the Nebraska Public meeting calendar website from September 25-October 10, Roll call was read with the following members present: Doug Brand; Mark Fahleson; Jana Kruger, Board Chairperson; Ed Kruse; Dan Kunnemann; Kathleen Lodl; Bill Marshall; Lowell Minert, Treasurer; Chuck Rolf; Marvin Rousey, Vice Chairperson; Kirk Shane, Secretary; Kent Zeller. Others in attendance were: Joseph McDermott, Executive Director; Kelly O Brien, Administrative Assistant; Bill Angell, Livestock Superintendent; Sandy Spiehs, Livestock Assistant; Chelsey Jungck, Events & Entertainment Director; Kelsey Brozek, Events & Entertainment Assistant; Jaime Parr, Facility Director; Janna Kuklis, Facility Assistant; Shaun Schleif, Marketing and Sponsorship Director; Ross Struss, Marketing and Sponsorship Assistant; Scott Yound, Maintenance Director, Jay Mollring, Maintenance Assistance; Lindsey Koepke, 1868 Foundation Director; Steve White-NTV News; Robert Pore-the Independent; Ron Hitch; Richard Simpson; Lee & Linda McComb. Kruger announced the meeting had been properly advertised as an open meeting and informed those in attendance of the posting location of the Open Meetings Act. Minutes of August 9 & August 22, 2014 There being no corrections: Motion made by Rolf to approve the minutes of the August 9, 2014, meeting as printed. Fahleson seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. Motion made by Minert to approve the minutes of the August 22, 2014, meeting as printed. Kunnemann seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. September Financial Report McDermott reported total current assets of $2,945,105; payables at $780,186; total direct revenue at $3,707,962 and direct expenses $4,257,281. 1

2 Motion made by Rousey to approve the September Financial Report. Minert seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. Executive Director's Report McDermott stated as you all know we have a very good relationship with NAFM (National Association of Fair Managers) and we want to keep that relationship. McDermott shared that NAFM has their annual board meeting on October 25 in Kearney, NE, which Jungck will be attending to represent the Nebraska State Fair. Veteran s Day Ron Hitch/Richard Simpson Jungck introduced Ron Hitch. Hitch stated he is a member of the United Veterans Club Honor Guard and thanked the board for the great job they do and acknowledged the board for supporting the Veteran s in the state of Nebraska by having a Veteran s Day celebration at the Nebraska State Fair. Hitch mentioned he volunteers at the Veteran s Home and Veteran s Hospital and would like to share some feedback he has received. The comment he hears is that the Veteran s Day celebration is on the last day of the fair. With the celebration being on the last day of the fair, members feel like they miss a lot of the activities that take place other days of the fair. Hitch also shared regarding the Veteran s Day parade, the Honor Guard from the United Veteran s Club has always been a part of the fair/parade. A couple of other honor guard groups showed up this year on Veteran s Day for the parade. One group was from Kearney and the other group was from Valparaiso. These two groups of Honor Guards ended up declining to march in the parade based on their placement in the parade. Upon researching the Honor Guard rights, it identifies that the Honor Guard or Color Guard are always first in the parade. They should be before all marchers. This is why the two groups declined to march. Hitch suggested we have at least one Veteran from the state of Nebraska involved in our planning of the Veteran s Day celebration. Hitch reiterated that the Veteran s in the state of Nebraska appreciate everything the Nebraska State Fair does for the Veteran s. McDermott asked Jungck to identify who helps in the planning of the Veteran s Day. Jungck responded there is a Veteran s Day planning committee. It is a new group identified as the community Veteran s Day task force. Jungck agreed additional members would be beneficial to the committee. IAFE Convention Kruger reminded everyone about the IAFE convention in Las Vegas which is December Kruger mentioned that Rousey, Kunnemann, Shane and herself will be attending from the board. Kruger asked McDermott to share who would be attending from the staff. McDermott responded that Parr, Jungck, Schleif, Angell and himself would be attending from the staff. Kruger added Chuck Hibbard will also be attending as a speaker. 2

3 Summary presentation from the morning groups review of the 2014 fair Livestock/4H/FFA Shane & Angell Shane reported the livestock entries were up 17%. The barns were full and everything looked great. Check in trailer for livestock went very smooth this year. It was cooler this year, which helped. Exhibitors liked the new swine wash racks. The 4H Dog show was moved this year to the Heartland Event Center all but the agility and it was a hit. Still need to work on the Big Red Barn for the agility. Shane continued that it has been mentioned we need to make our horse shows better. Shane mentioned other fairs are not having their horse shows during the fair, instead they are having them prior to the fair. Move in/move out was the best it has been. It flowed very well. To keep trucks and trailers off the core grounds of the fair, they directed exhibitors that were leaving to go out Gate 5 which worked well once everyone was headed in the right direction. Livestock Department will be looking at making some changes to the way the exhibitors leave in The High school rodeo was a success. There were a lot of people watching the High School Rodeo. The Livestock department is working on making the High School rodeo even better in the future. Fahleson asked what we could do to increase the numbers of the Livestock Exhibitors? Minert reminded everyone last spring the board approved to have an Open Junior show. The numbers still didn t change. Shane asked Angell to pass out the entry numbers comparison from 2013 to McDermott asked if it would make sense to conduct another comparison of premiums paid out to see if we are still comparable with other fairs. Shane asked Angell if he had anything to add. Angell added that they had a lot of problems in the parking lots due to the mud. The ability to use the JBS Swift lot was a huge relief for the exhibitor s and the Brunk s lot so we didn t tear it up too badly. McDermott commented JBS Swift is very community minded. McDermott feels the lot is available to us anytime we need it. The first weekend is tough for them to give up the lot as they are still working, but the second weekend is good as they are shut down for the holiday weekend. Facilities/Maintenance/Golf Carts/Shuttles-Rolf & Yound Rolf reported there were lots of good comments about the Nebraska Building. There were also comments about the lack of the Game & Parks shooting range being open. The announcements keeping public aware of the weather was very much appreciated. The Nebraska Building needs to add Handicapped accessible doors. We will be checking into concrete on the north end of the NE Building. Additional lighting is needed in various areas of the grounds. They will check into some stadium type lighting. Yound mentioned the Nebraska Building was built up around the existing sidewalks in the Family Fun Zone which created the water problems that we had during the fair. It was suggested that we have an architect come in and look to see what it would take to fix the problem. Rolf/Yound both mentioned the possibility of eliminating the current location of Gate 8 and moving it to the east side of the R Barn. It will take some research to see what it will take to make that change. Yound shared there are also some issues with drainage from the west side of the Nebraska Building. The ground at the concrete openings is eroding and washing away. Rolf shared there are problems with the acoustics in the board room. McDermott commented regarding the echoing that he has had a company come out and they made some suggestions. McDermott will have more information soon. 3

4 Vendors/Special Days/Historical/Volunteers/Open Class/Domestic Exhibits-Marshall & Parr Marshall reported the vendors had a good fair. $2 Tuesday was a good day for the Vendors. Parr added that $2 Tuesday was a big hit. Concession vendors and Merchandise vendors liked it and were willing to participate in it. We need to work on making the specific deals known earlier. Parr also commented that we need to close up the back of the house on the vendors in the market place a little more. It was talked about closing the openings as we don t want fair traffic in there due to electrical cords, sewer, etc. running through there. It has been suggested that we put up a wall type barrier and place a map of that particular food pod on it. Parr commented that 40 of the 60 food vendors were up including 24 who were up 25% or more. 12 of food vendors were down. The Pinneapple Whip vendor was down 83% as they were open only on the 2 nd weekend. This was due to a misfortune they had on the way to the fair in which they totaled their booth. Parr feels the increase in concession sales was due to the cooler weather. It also helped that the midway didn t have their BBQ stand right in your face when you came in the main gate. In 2013 we had 63 food stands. In 2014 we had 60. Parr feels this is a good number and hopes to still have new food items she would like to suggest a food contest before the fair. People are always looking for what the new fair food is. Parr also shared that indoor merchandise spaces were up. The space on the east end of the Pinnacle Bank Expo center was given to sponsors, which was received very well as the displays were lower and inviting. One of the grain bin info booths was used this year in the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center. Feedback regarding the info booth was good. Parr wasn t sure at first and almost had it removed. Parr continued that the State Fair Cares program was a success overall. NSF looks forward to continuing the program. Recycling was good this year with 2.17 tons of plastic; 3.62 tons cardboard; 930 gallons of used fryer oil; 1164 tons animal waste/bedding; 1639 lbs of aluminum cans. Entertainment/Parades/Receptions/Midway-Kunnemann & Jungck Kunnemann shared that the Opening Ceremony was discussed. Some thought it was too short and others thought it was too long. The challenge for the Opening Ceremonies is there has never been a designated spot for the opening ceremony. The Bankers reception was a huge success. The Bankers appreciated us acknowledging them and were pleased with the gate passes. The Board room in the Nebraska Building worked well for the Grand Marshall reception. Kunnemann continued that parades were discussed as well as the Veteran s Day parade. They will get answers regarding the Color Guard/Honor Guard. Jungck added that moving the staging of the motorcycles to Island Oasis was a huge improvement. The grounds & strolling acts were discussed. It was suggested to space them out on the grounds more evenly. Jungck added that some of the challenge s are they all need dressing room space. Sound one thing we have to keep in mind is sound over lapping. Jungck continued that concerts went well this year. The lineup was very good. Styx and Brantley Gilbert were sold out. Terry Fator was VERY close to being sold out. The $6 ticket for the most part was received well. Kruger added we will have a session at our retreat in November regarding concerts. Schleif mentioned Bobbie the Barker was very well received. Bobbie s real name is Wendy Carlson. Schleif commented the Marathon was also a success with 600+ runners. 4

5 Animal Planet was a big success. In Animal Planet s book, it was a huge success as well. Schleif feels they will do it again. Future Meetings & Events December 4.Board member/staff Christmas dinner - Riverside Golf Course, Grand Island, NE December 5.Board meeting - Nebraska State Fair Board room, Grand Island, NE January 23.Board meeting - Ramada Inn, Kearney, NE. January NAFM convention - Ramada Inn, Kearney, NE. February 6 or 20 (vote needed)..board meeting/election of Officers Lincoln, NE March 13.Board meeting April 10.Board meeting May 8.Board meeting June 12.Board meeting July 10.Board meeting Foundation update Koepke reported revenues are just shy of $230,000. They are $5, short of their projected revenue goal. Koepke also mentioned that she transitioned in 2014 from a vendor in Lincoln for her t-shirts and gift shop items to a local vendor here in Grand Island. Koepke shared that the Foundation Gift Shop is busy all the time. Koepke utilizes volunteers to run her gift shop. She said it is usually the same volunteers every year. Koepke commented that the Volunteer recognition tribute is beautiful. She is currently busy sending out newsletters to keep their donors up to date. Koepke has also submitted a grant for general operating funds. Koepke wanted to make special recognition to a couple of donors, Mike and Ruth Fletcher. They bought two golf carts for the 1868 Foundation and spent a lot of time helping at the fair. Kruger added we need to be thinking of a new project for the 1868 Foundation. Other Business Kruger asked four of the board members to be on a new committee for concerts. Kruger added that most of it will be done via conference call. Fahleson, Kunnemann, Brand and Kruse volunteered to be the new concert committee. Kruger will be part of the concert committee as well. Executive Session Contracts / Contracts *Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority Motion made by Fahleson to go into Executive Session for purpose of discussing contracts. Rolf seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. Time entered into Executive Session: 2:19 p.m. Motin made by Fahleson to exit Executive Session. Shane seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. Time exited executive session: 3:01 p.m. 5

6 Adjourn Motion made by Fahleson to approve the GILCA contract as in concept. With a final agreement to be considered at a future date. Minert seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed unanimously. Motion made by Fahleson to adjourn. Shane seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passes unanimously. 6