THE BALLOON MAN

Alameda County Fair Rises to 33 in Top 50 Fairs in North America
Alameda County Fair manager, Rick Pickering, chosen as CEO of the California State Fair.
from:  unioncity.patch.com
December 19, 2012
From the Alameda County Fair:
The Board of Directors of the California State Fair & Exposition has announced the selection of Rick Pickering as the State Fair’s new Chief Executive Officer. Pickering has been at the helm of the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton since January of 1999 and has been credited with the Fairs remarkable growth. In the past four years alone, the Alameda County Fair has experienced a 44% increase in attendance, making it the 33 rd largest Fair in North America. With more than 3,000 Fairs in North America, the Alameda County Fair is now ranked in the top 1%. Additionally, the Alameda County Fair has become one of the most decorated Fairs in the United States and Canada.

According to Stephen Chambers, Executive Director of the Western Fairs Association (WFA,) “Rick Pickering has regularly been selected by his peers to lead our industry forward. He is the only Fair CEO to have served as President of the WFA, Chairman of the California Fairs Alliance, President of the California Authority of Racing Fairs, and President of the California Fairs Services Authority.”

“If aliens landed and said ‘take us to your leader,’ we would bring them to Rick’s office!” Chambers added. He also noted that Pickering was recently selected as the 2013 inductee to the WFA Hall of Fame.

An official Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on January 24, 2013.
read more:
http://unioncity.patch.com/articles/alameda-county-fair-rises-to-33-in-top-50-fairs-in-north-america#c