Colorado State Fair Gets New General Manager

BROOMFIELD, CO -- Scott Stoller of Chico, California will start July 1 as the new Colorado State Fair general manager, the Colorado Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

Stoller comes to Colorado from a position as General Manager of the Chico-based Silver Dollar Fair, where he has worked since 2009, the department announced. He also managed the Benton County Fair and Rodeo in Corvallis, Oregon.

Stoller's childhood included 4-H, and the showing, breeding and marketing of cattle, sheep, and pigs at his local fair. He was a national delegate for Future Farmers of America twice in high school, a press release said.

“My personal and professional life has revolved around fairs and agriculture. I’m excited to start this new chapter of my career and to call Pueblo home. I truly believe fairs offer a great service of educating consumers about the role agriculture plays in their lives while honoring the western heritage that helped build this great state,” said Stoller in a statement.

Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown praised Stoller in a statement.

“The Colorado State Fair is the centerpiece of our agricultural education efforts and I’m thrilled that Mr. Stoller will be spearheading our goals of promoting agriculture, supporting our FFA and 4-H youth, improving the Fair’s financial position, and developing additional year-round activities at the fairgrounds,” said Brown.

Former CDA Deputy Commissioner, Pueblo native Chris Wiseman, has been serving as interim head of the fair after the exit of Sarah Cummings, the Fair's General Manager since 2015, who became executive director for the Western Fairs Association in California.

The 11-day Colorado State Fair in Pueblo runs Aug. 24 - Sep. 3, 2018. The fair has an $8 million budget and includes a 100-acre state fairgrounds with 57 permanent building structures.

This will be the fair's 146th year as a celebration of Colorado agriculture. The Fairgrounds pumps $34 million in economic activity to Colorado throughout the year, the Department of Agriculture said, with $29 million of that from the annual State Fair.

The event features "one of the country’s largest traveling carnivals, artwork, crafts, food competitions, thrilling rodeo action, a wide variety of food and merchandise booths and a Fiesta Day honoring Colorado's ties to the Hispanic culture," the Dept. of Agriculture said.

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