Greetings friends of the
Florida Federation of Fairs from the Outdoor Amusement Business Association (OABA) It was great to see many of you at the Florida Federation of Fairs and Zone 1 & 2 meeting in Naples. It’s always a great meeting and it was nice to add Zone 1 into the mix. The OABA’s presentation “When the Carnival Comes to Town” was well received by those who joined us in the presentation. We try, wherever possible, to communicate the inner workings of our industry in an effort to have a better understanding and working relationship with our fair partners. One of the topics that we discussed was the re-launching of our Circle of Excellence (COE) program to the industry. This OABA accredited program allows carnival members to demonstrate that their carnival has gone through an in-depth audit of all facets of their operation. Before being considered for an audit the carnival must qualify with three prerequisites. The company must complete a national background and drug testing program for each employee and their housing must conform with the OABA’s 2021 portable workforce housing policy. Once these items are confirmed they can schedule an audit. The audits are comprehensive and include issues such as operations including training, food and ride safety, professional appearance of employees, customer service and crisis management planning. The field audit takes about three days to complete. Once complete, they are scored and the carnival either passes and is awarded a three-year COE designation or fail. Those that are awarded the COE designation are truly the best of the best. We are hopeful that fairs begin, or continue, to use the COE program in their selection process when awarding contracts. By requiring the COE designation in the selection process, the fair can promote them to have a carnival that has gone through a rigorous audit program and has been designated with this high honor for safety, outstanding customer service and overall high standards. If you have any questions about the COE program, please feel free to contact me at gregc@oaba.org or 407-848-8010. We wish you a successful and safe season.
SUPPORT THE OABA'S MISSION: “TO PROMOTE THE PRESERVATION AND GROWTH OF THE OUTDOOR AMUSEMENT INDUSTRY THROUGH LEADERSHIP, ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION” PURPOSE AND GOALS: The Show Ambassador Program was created by the Membership Committee to improve communications between the OABA, carnivals and members, as well as to increase membership in all member categories. The Membership Committee's goal is to have a Show Representative on every carnival midway to provide a voice for members and provide the office with information, i.e., human interest articles, photos, videos, etc., for OABA communications programs. Summer 2022/66
Greg Chiecko, OABA President & CEO
Outdoor Amusement Business Association 1305 Memorial Avenue West Springfield, MA 01809 407-848-8010 gregc@oaba.org www.oaba.org
