SUE GOODING
VP OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
STATE FAIR OF TEXAS, DALLAS
HOMETOWN: I grew up in Dallas, probably 10 miles from the fair.
UNIVERSITY: North Texas State University, now known as University of North Texas.
FIRST JOB IN THE INDUSTRY: It was a seasonal position with the State Fair of Texas back in 1982. I actually worked seasonally until 2004, when I became fulltime.
MOST INTERESTING MOMENT: Watching the destruction of Big Tex in a fire in 2012 was probably the most surreal. But the most time-consuming and exciting thing I’ve done since I’ve been here was welcoming the Oprah Winfrey show to the fair.
MENTORS: Nancy Wiley. She had, upon her retirement, finished up 34 years at the State Fair of Texas. She was the first female senior vice president. I worked along with her from the beginning.
FREE TIME ACTIVITIES: I read. I also like to go to other events to get ideas. I still have the merchandising bug in me, so I’m always looking at T-shirts or any kind of novelty to see if I think that’s something that would resonate with our visitors.
BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE: A corny dog. My first Fletcher’s corny dog at the fair each year.
(214) 565-9931
MICHAEL ENOCH
GENERAL MANAGER
MERCEDES-BENZ ARENA, SHANGHAI
HOMETOWN: I was born in West Virginia. My family has been in a little town called Parkersburg for more than 200 years.
FIRST JOB IN THE INDUSTRY: I was going to college at Marshall University in West Virginia for theater and they built a new arena in town, so I went down and became a stagehand there part time. The GM, Dana Warg, finally relented and gave me a job.
MENTORS: Dennis Finfrock was probably the greatest motivator of my entire career. He ran the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas and also the MGM Garden. Also, my father, who has been gone for about 10 years. There were a bunch of kids in my family, and he was a big supporter of all of us.
FAVORITE SONG: When I first got here, it was ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ by John Denver. First, it made me very homesick. Then there was a senior staff dinner during the holidays with about 18 people and each one came up to my chair and toasted me. There was karaoke, so when I got up to sing ‘Take Me Home Country Roads,’ everybody stood up and sang with me.
BEST ADVICE: Don’t get down when things are down, and don’t celebrate too high when things are at the top.
BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE: My grandchildren. I have two granddaughters named Avery and Ashley who live in West Virginia who I only get to see a couple of times a year, and I have a new grandson named Nicky who will be two in April. We Skype a lot, with his mother’s help.
+86 021 3899 6632
ANDY IMPERATI
GENERAL MANAGER
DUCHESS COUNTY FAIR, RHINEBECK, N.Y.
HOMETOWN: Hyde Park, N.Y., just a few miles down the road from our current location. I started exhibiting at the fair at a very young age, showing beef steers and heifers with the 4-H.
UNIVERSITY: State Univ. of New York, Cobleskill.
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START: I was a member of the Dutchess County Ag Society and they asked me to volunteer to build some horse stalls and I never left. They hired me on as head carpenter.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: In 2011 we had an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week. Hurricane Irene actually hit on a Friday and we thought it might go back out to sea, but it didn’t. Thankfully we were luckier than others and the fairgrounds weren’t hurt — we didn’t even lose a tree.
FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB: Working with new people everyday. The independent concessionaires are very colorful — they’re all over the place and have great stories to tell.
WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU WERENT AT THE FAIR: I’d either be working on the family farm or in the family construction business. I still enjoy working around the house.
ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT: I’m a huge history buff, especially World War II.
HOBBIES: I love to fish, pretty much anything clear water — rivers, streams and lakes. I would love to try fly-fishing in Montana in the Yellowstone River.
(845) 876-4000