President’s Message Daryl Whicheloe, CCE, President As I am thinking about this month’s message, I am finishing a four-day weekend event put on by a local Active Club that raises money for children with needs in the community. This is a fairly large event that brings in thousands of people during the four-day event. The Grants Pass Active Club is a group of about fifty volunteers that work as a great team to put on this event. It is amazing to watch a plain and simple city park transform into a fun, family friendly, “Mini City” and gathering area with infrastructure, dining, entertainment, shopping, security, housing, and parking—all in just a couple of days. The Fair Industry is great at building “Mini Cities” in a very quick time period. WE know it takes a HUGE team effort to put on such an event. The team includes Fair Office and Staff, Maintenance Department, Carnival, Concessions, Beverage Providers, Commercial Exhibitors, Security Personnel, Parking, 4-H and FFA, Advertising, the Financial Department, the Legal Department, and so many more. It is really a pleasure to be part of that team.
Kristen and Daryl Whicheloe, CCE, thriving in the Summer!
Working as a Team
I am always amazed at my own team, and fellow Concessionaires, that set up a Food Concession in a matter of hours that serves high quantities and good quality food. With our business partners like Sysco, Pepsi, and several other local providers, and working as a team with other Concessionaires, we are able to stock enough product and provide service to large numbers of people that make most restaurants envious. I may be the boss of my company (well, actually my wife Kristen is the real boss) but I truly understand it is a team effort that makes my company successful and not just me. With that said, I would like to brag a little about NICA’s small but mighty team. Rey, Linda, Jesse, Jessica, and Dennis do an amazing job for NICA, for you and me, and for our Industry. Some of the recent things they have been working on include the upcoming NICA Marketplace event to be held in Las Vegas, November 6-8, 2022. This is really going to be a wonderful opportunity for Concessionaires to network, learn, and be heard. I hope you will all attend and take advantage of NICA’s newest event. The Office team has also just signed a contract with Supplies on the Fly, a Sysco-owned restaurant equipment provider with thousands of items we use every day. With other NICA Members, I had the honor to evaluate their offerings for our members. We believe they have products that are useful to our success, and pricing that is favorable to our bottom lines. I look forward to working with them and think they will be a nice, additional benefit to all of our members. See Page 13 for more program information and easy-to-follow directions on how to sign up for Supplies on the Fly’s Sysco Rewards Program. The Office is also currently working on a system that will text all of our members to keep you informed of any NICA updates. If you haven’t already received a text, I encourage you to text NICA to (833) 913-3767 to join the list. I anticipate this being a very useful tool for us. I wish YOU and your TEAM a great month! I hope you stay healthy, safe, and successful. ▲ June 2022 NICA News
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