Capitol Update Convention ................................................................5,6,7,8,9

Capitol Update: By: CAS Government Services

Greetings from the Capitol City! The Legislature has made it past the halfway point of the annual legislative session and largely things are shaping up to be on a relatively smooth glide path to the completion of session. One of the bigger issues which has taken a lot of bandwidth during this session is redistricting of Congressional, State Senate and State House Districts. The Legislature is required to redraw districts every ten years based on the population data collected during the decennial census. In addition, Florida’s Constitution spells out specific criteria which must be followed in order to redraw the new districts. Terms of art such as community of interests, compactness, local government boundaries all play into the shape and coverage of the new districts. While it sounds simple enough, inevitably, there will be new districts which has the potential to have incumbents drawn into the same district or districts which have been historically one-party majority become more competitive. Hence, emotions and tempers can flare up as the maps are finalized.

In addition to redistricting, the Legislature and the Governor have, to this point, been clipping through “red meat” issues which tend to energize the electorate. Topical bills which address critical race theory, transportation of undocumented individuals, abortion, and parental rights in education have all been moving through the legislature albeit with much debate from and long hours in session.

Whether you agree with Governor DeSantis and the Legislative Leadership or not, it is clear their leadership of COVID-19 and keeping Florida business open has resulted in a growing Florida economy and by extension a healthy budget for the state. Florida’s revenue collection continues to be robust and as a result it is expected the Legislature will ultimately pass the largest budget in state history while maintaining a healthy state reserve fund. To this end, we expect to see healthy funding in state programs and projects including funding for Agricultural Education and Promotional Facilities Grants. These grants have been critically important to many federation members and provide critical funding for facilities and infrastructure which otherwise would be cost prohibitive.

On a Federation specific note, a few of the Federation board members made a quick trip to Tallahassee in early February. While the trip was quick, there were several opportunities to meet with key Legislators and staff on issues of the day and equally important, planting seeds for future work of the Federation in Tallahassee. If it were to be described in a word, “opportunity” seems to be the best description. Over the next several years, we are likely to have Governor DeSantis (who has certainly taken the opportunity to visit several fairs as Governor), as well as key legislative leaders in the Senate and the House whom either were or are currently involved with their local fairs and expositions. Given this dynamic, the “opportunity” to re-think and re-brand our messaging in Tallahassee has never been better. This should excite all Federation members, the importance of our events to our youth, to our communities, to the state cannot not be understated. With redistricting and the potential for new faces in Tallahassee as well as potential changes in the Florida cabinet, now, if ever, is the time to make a splash!

Thank you for the opportunity to represent you in Tallahassee. We sincerely appreciate the trust you place in us to represent you!

Respectfully, Dale, Connie and Jim

Tallahassee—2022 From left: Senator Jim Boyd R-District 21 Gary Reeder, President Manatee County Farm Bureau Dan West, FFF Executive Director

Photo by Eddie Cora

IAFE Chair Jeremy Parsons, CFE

Clay County Fair PO Box 527 /Spencer, IA 51301-0527 (712) 580-3000

IAFE First Vice Chair Jennifer Giesike, CFE

Washington Town & Country Fair Washington, MO 63090-2124

IAFE Second Vice Chair Jo Reynolds, CFE

Warren County Fair 701 W 2nd Ave./ Indianola, IA 50125-2347

IAFE Treasurer Jaime Navarro

State Fair of Texas PO Box 150009 / Dallas, TX 75315-0009

IAFE Immediate Past Chair

Gene Cassidy, CFE Eastern States Exposition

IAFE Prior Past Chair

Nancy Smith, CFE South Carolina State Fair

IAFE President & CEO Marla Calico, CFE

Springfield, MO

IAFE Zone 1 Director

Kathryn Hunter Topsham Fair

IAFE Zone 2 Director

Kelly Collins, CFE State Fair of West Virginia

Directors at Large from Associate Members Kathy Ross

Ross Concessions /Dunnellon, FL

Jay Strates

Strates Shows / Orlando, FL IAFE Announces the 2022 Conven-

tion & Trade Show Location and Dates!

The IAFE Convention & Trade Show will begin moving to different cities beginning with the 2022 event. After extensive research and nearly two dozen proposals reviewed, the Board of Directors voted in May 2019 to host the event in a different city each year 2022 through 2025. The sites selected offered the best approach to meet the needs of the members: accessibility, affordability, unique opportunities, and great after-hours activity.

The 2022 IAFE Convention & Trade Show will be held November 27-30 in Indianapolis, IN. The meetings and trade show will take place in the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, with seven official hotels conveniently located near the center and connected via heated skywalks.

Important Information

Fairs: if you have poultry competitions at your fair, you should keep an eye on developments of the new highly pathogenic avian influenza popping up in some US states. Here is a link to USDA website that tracks where it is popping up in the US:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai

You might consider pushing out these links to all your poultry exhibitors, as well: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/2013/ fsc_backyard_biosecurity.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/defend-the-flock-program/dtf-resources/dtf-resources

At the current time this situation does not impact for human health.

IAFE President Jeremy Parsons and Mrs. Parsons visit Cheryl Flood at the Florida State Fair.

Awards in Excellence Presented at IAFE Contest Award Show

Communications Award Winners

Category 2 Radio Div. 2 Clay County Agricultural Fair Category 3 Flat Promo Ad Div.2 Clay County Agricultural Fair Category 8 Outdoor Adv. Div. 1 Lake County Fair Div. 3 So Florida Fair Category 11 At-Home Activities Div. 2 Clay County Agricultural Fair Category 12 Lake County Fair Category 13 Best Marketing Campaign Div. 3 South Florida Fair

Judges Creative Award Clay County Agricultural Fair Agricultural Award Winners

Category 2A Developed by Fair Mgmt. to correct an issue or challenge Div. 1 Osceola County Fair Category 3B Newly established Exhibit promoting Agriculture Div. 1 Greater Jacksonville Ad Fair Category 5 Promotion/Special Event Div. 3 Florida State Fair Category 6A Ag Individual Photo Div. 3 Central Florida Fair Category 6B Ag individual photo –Crops Div. 3 Florida State Fair Competitive Exhibits Award Winners Cat. 4 Tactic to engage participants Div. 3 Florida State Fair Category. 7 Virtual Contests Div. 2 Manatee County Fair Div. 3 Florida State Fair Category 10 Addition Exhibit Measures Cat. 3 Florida State Fair

Non-Fair Facility Usage Award Winners

Category 1A Successful non-Fair Event Div. 3 South Florida Fair Category 1B Best 1st year event not produced by facility staff Div. 3 Central Florida Fair Category 1C Utilize facility during psndemic Div. 1C Martin County Fair

Best of Division South Florida Fair

Innovation in Sponsorship Awards

Category 2 First Time Sponsorship Div. 1 Gr. Jacksonville Ag Fair Category 3 Sponsor Continuity Div. 2 Clay County Agricultural Fair Category 4 Sponsor Exposure Div. 2 Clay County Agricultural Fair

Best of Division Gr. Jacksonville Agricultural Fair

IAFE's very own podcast series! Hosted by IAFE President & CEO Marla Calico, CFE, this podcast will discuss different aspects affecting agricultural fairs. Please join Marla as she features different guests. Learn valuable tips and hear fascinating stories from top experts in the fair industry!

Pam Plylar, Osceola County Fair Graduate Institute of Fair Management Fran Crone, SW FL & Lee County Fair received her 2020 Institute of Fair Management Graduate Entertainment Track certification.

NEXT Institute of Fair Management SUMMIT

BURN TO LEARN! February 24 - 26, 2023

Washington, D.C. Madison Hotel

Lynann Hudson, Florida State Fair Graduate Institute of Fair Management

Jay Spicer, Martin County Fair Graduate Institute of Fair Management James Nussbaumer, Lake County Fair Graduate Institute of Fair Management