ASSOCIATE OF THE YEAR

Eddie Porcelli

Fifty-seven years ago a man named Sam Lloyd walked into my father's pizza shop and asked him to become a vendor at the Dutchess County Fair. After the first day my dad knew that this industry is what he wanted to spend his career in. I am the oldest of three children that grew up spending the summers at northeast fairs and going to school in Florida. My childhood was filled with fun, sacrifice, travel experiences, and hard work. I would not have traded any of it for the world. When I got to the age of 15 my dad said to me "Son you can have anything you desire in life you just have to work for it." The next day I walked into the pizza stand and learned how to make pizza. From that day on the industry has become my passion. My life revolved around it, I met my wife Sandi at the Altamont Fair (NY). We planned the birth of Emily in the winter off-season. Every other special event was planned around the business.

I have been in the industry for most of my life. There was a short period when I decided to try a "normal job." That lasted for five years. That time made me realize how special the fair industry is. I have had the honor to meet and work with so many great people. I have attended fairs from Calgary, Canada to Minnesota to Springfield, Massachusetts to Freyburg, Maine.

One afternoon in 2019 I was fishing and my phone rang. The name came up Paul Davis from Florida Strawberry Festival. When I answered the call one of the greatest honors was offered to me. Paul asked if I would consider being on the board of the Florida Federation of Fairs. I did not know how significant that decision was. The next spring at the Strawberry Festival Covid hit the industry. This was a moment that the industry did not know how to overcome. The greatness of every person from fair management to concession to show owner in this industry is being able to overcome any obstacles. The new President of the board (Jim Ward) and the Executive Director (Dan West) are the unsung heroes that saved our industry. They put together a weekly Zoom meeting that gave each Florida fair manager so much information, support, and encouragement to restart the industry. I became the voice that gave the fairs a viewpoint from a different side of the industry. This made me realize that if we come together and have honest conversations that talk about hard topics nothing is impossible to overcome. I truly believe the Florida Federation of Fairs board of directors during 2020 saved our industry along with every Florida fair. We showed how to open safely.

When my two years were over on the board I was saddened but I knew I was going to be involved where I was needed. This past May I was given the highest honor of being named the Associate of the Year. I will never forget that night and want to thank everyone. I wanted everyone to know my feelings on the Florida Federation of Fairs because sometimes in our industry we only focus on the negative situations to overcome sometimes the greatest situations get overlooked. I encourage each and every member to get more involved and for the people that are not members to join an organization that makes an impact in our industry.