January / February 2017 NICA News

“West” continued from page 5 ►►
and a Survival Kit and Rally at the Yolo County
Fair. We thought it was cool that Alameda County
Fair went to a San Francisco Giants game for a
fundraiser on the same date as Del Mar held its
Poker Tournament. Then, the Northeast Council
held their first fundraiser on the same date as the
10th Annual Fairplex Golf Tournament. It was the
Council’s honor to be a sponsor of their first event
by donating individually and then having NICA
match it for a total for $600.
Soon fall was coming into view with visits to
new fairs where the Council wants to see NICA
grow: North Idaho Fair and Rodeo, Western Idaho
Fair, and Oregon State Fair. That is also how new
leadership is found. Our events closed out with a
quiet visit to the Lake Perris Fair; a huge (12 new
members) Meet and Greet Dinner at the State Fair
of Texas; and a successful Poker Tournament at
the Arizona State Fair. We are proud that part of
“Northeast” continued from page 5 ►►
joint Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode
Island State Fair Convention in Sturbridge, MA.
At the Convention, Jessica had the opportunity to
meet with over 20 members of Fair management,
to share the mission and direction of NICA, and
to remind them of the opportunity and benefits
being a member, even for a Fair, brings. Jessica
also moderated a panel discussion at the
Convention, on behalf of NICA, titled “Concessions
from the Point of View of the Concessionaire.”
She presented with two mobile food concession
owners, who travel the Northeast, to a full room.
The audience was made up of Fair management,
concession coordinators and volunteers. We
held a 90 minute discussion focused on what
Concessionaires need and hope for from Fair
management (primarily communication). We
also talked about contractual changes, layout
changes, and allowing the professionals to run
their business. Many of the audience members
had questions for us about how to draw Vendors
to their Fair. Several of the smaller events are
having some difficulty booking high quality,
unique vendors, and are finding that their product
mixes—both food and non-food—are not very
diverse. Our panelists suggested visiting events
Dominic Palmieri’s preparation to become NICA’s
next president was to earn his CCE designation.
Our last project this year was to support our
NICA events at the IAFE Convention including the
staffing of the NICA trade show booth.
Throughout the year, there is the business of
visiting Fairs to talk about important concerns,
planning for and participating in Industry
Conventions, visiting Sysco OpCo’s, completing
goals like the NSM Program Playbook, providing
how-to information, and applauding when so
many of our members win significant Fair awards
for doing an excellent job as Concessionaires.
In summary, West Council signed up over 50
new members, netted $37,000 in fundraising,
consistently supported NICA benefit revenues by
purchasing from Sysco and First Data, donated
$2500 to Fair foundations, earmarked $950 to the
2017 Gene O’Brien, CCE Scholarship and hosted
over 1000 people at events. Please put a beverage
in your 10th Anniversary koozie and toast “Cheers
for Ten Years and Together We Can!” ▲
both right before and after their own Fair to help
the Vendors build a route. We also discussed
requiring deposits upfront, as Fair managers feel
that Concessionaires who pay upon arrival are
trending towards watching the weather and then
deciding if they will honor their contract. With no
investment of their own, they are free to back out
at the last minute.
As plans for 2017 progress, you will see the
Northeast Regional Council at the New York State
Fair Association Convention, in Rochester, NY, in
January. We will have the opportunity to speak to
the entire delegation and introduce NICA and the
Northeast Council. We will also have a table where
attendees can learn about NICA’s Five Talking
Points, and membership benefits. We will be
taking onsite memberships as well.
Finally, for the first time, the Northeast
Regional Council was present and represented
at IAFE’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV.
Jessica had the opportunity to present to Board
of Directors on the Council’s activities, and meet
with Fair management throughout the Northeast.
Russ Harrison, CCE represented both NICA and
Northeast Regional Council during a presentation
on the Transfer of Ownership. The presentation
was well-attended and generated conversation
around transparency and succession planning. ▲
24 January / February 2017 NICA News