California Mid-State Fair names former Cal Poly student as CEO

Correction: The headline on an earlier version of this story misstated Michael Bradley’s connection to Cal Poly.

The California Mid-State Fair’s new CEO says the Paso Robles Event Center could host events 365 days a year — such as trade shows, business gatherings and food, wine and lifestyle events. That’s far more than it does now.

“The facility holds tremendous potential in terms of its future development, in terms of the revitalization of use during the interim period” when the fair is not in session, Michael Bradley said.

“It’s a phenomenal location right there just off Highway 101,” Bradley said, describing the Paso Robles fairgrounds as “a gem of the state for California.” “It just screams the opportunity to come and be part of the program.”

Bradley, 59, begins his tenure as fair CEO on May 16, the fair Board of Directors announced Friday.

He replaces Vivian Robertson, who retired Jan. 31 after 11 years in the top spot. She had worked in various roles at the fair for nearly four decades.

Fair board president Bob Lilley said Bradley was selected from a pool of 36 applicants.

“He clearly rose to the top of an extremely competitive list,” Lilley said.

“What struck the board was his leadership skills,” Lilley said, as well as Bradley’s strengths in marketing and community relations. “He was just a very personable and charismatic man.”

Bradley studied agricultural education at Cal Poly from 1976 to 1981, and met his future wife, Kimberly, while attending the university. He discovered an affinity for fairs as a student working summers at the California State Fair in Sacramento.

He served the California State Fair in various capacities, including management, from 1983 to 2008.

Bradley also spent five years in management and membership development with the California Farm Bureau Federation. Most recently, he was CEO of the Arizona National Livestock Show in Phoenix, a position he assumed in October 2013.

“I couldn’t stay away from the fair business,” he joked.

He has maintained his ties to the Central Coast, too, serving on advisory boards and participating in special events and fundraisers at Cal Poly. One of Bradley’s three sons, Luke, graduated last year from the university.

In his new role as fair CEO, Bradley will oversee eight full-time employees, two contract workers and more than 500 temporary staffers during the fair, which runs July 20 through 31 this year. Those workers handle security, sponsorships, accounting, marketing and vendor and concessions contracts, among other duties.

Bradley said he has worked with Cotton Rosser, whose Flying U Rodeo Company produces the Country Rodeo Finals at the fair, since the 1980s.

Bradley will have an annual salary of $117,000 plus benefits and will work with the board and staff to develop a comprehensive, strategic plan for the fair and its facilities, Lilley said.

“We’re really trying to market the Paso Robles Event Center because it’s a really great facility that’s actually underutilized,” Lilley said. “We have a 40-acre parcel that could be used for so many different things.”

For instance, he said, “We could expand agricultural and equestrian events being held here. ... There’s a really high demand for a professional venue (for that).”

On average, Lilley said, the Paso Robles Event Center is rented out five or six times a month.

“We could at least double that,” he said.

“You just have to grab the gold ring and pursue it,” Bradley said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be leading that charge.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 3:41 PM.