County fair leader resigns

by Ed Moreth

The Sanders County Fairgrounds manager has called it quits after more than four years at the helm.

Melissa Cady put in her resignation last Thursday, citing health as her primary reason for moving on. "After this year because of my health and the stress of all that took place my doctor has advised me to seek a different path," said Cady in her resignation letter to Commissioner Tony Cox and Fair Commission Chairman Randy Woods.

"It'll be extremely tough shoes to fill," said Woods, who was sorry to see her leave. "She wasn't paid what she was worth. There's no other fair manager that did the job she did for that little bit of money," added Woods, who has been with the fair board for five years in October. Woods said that the fair's administrative assistant, Heather Lane, also quit, though Cox was unaware that she left.

In Cady's letter, she thanked Cox and Woods for their help with the job and said she worked hard with several of the fair board members to build the fair and make it an event destination. "It has taken a lot of time after hours, weekends and even holidays to build a relationship with the sponsors and their companies," she wrote, adding that she spent a lot of time networking to build this fair to an annual profit.

Woods also noted how much Cady had done to get added revenue to the fair and fairgrounds. He said that under former managers, the fairgrounds were taking in between $8,000 to $10,000 in rentals annually, but that just last year Cady was close to collecting $40,000. "The commissioners wanted the fairgrounds to be a year round event center and she did that," said Woods. Cady said she was also asked by the county commissioners to get national sponsors for the rodeo, which she accomplished. That was something she said was not an easy task.

Cady was hired in May 2019 after Chris McGuigan quit after two years on the job. DeDe Steinebach held the position for just over a year prior to McGuigan, who had served on the fair board for 20 years. Prior to that, Mike Hashisaki had the job for more than 20 years. Woods said that Cady immediately jumped in and got up to speed for the 2019 fair. Woods said he knew she was having health issues and encouraged her to take care of herself, but was still surprised that she quit.

"It's going to be hard to fill her position with such a qualified person. Under Melissa's management, the fair has done almost $500,000 in improvements to the fairgrounds without borrowing any money," he said. "She got Powder River Rodeo and was the thrust behind the rodeo," said Woods, who added that the fair used to lose money on the rodeo, but that Cady helped change it to a profit for the last two years. "She was instrumental in getting the rodeo into a moneymaker and getting national finals riders to this rodeo. Melissa was responsible for making it a destination for top riders in the nation," said Woods.

Cady also noted in her resignation letter that she worked hard with the owner of Paradise Amusements to keep prices the same. Carnival prices were one of the biggest complaints from locals for the last two years. However, Woods said there aren't that many carnival companies in the northwest and it's a big cost on the part of an owner to get the rides to Plains and man them for the week.

"The last few years have been nothing but a battle with the people of the county and a few others that I did not expect to be an issue, and my mental and physical health are no longer worth it. I have been threatened numerous times and I think it is time I step away," Cady said.

Cox was also sorry to see her go and felt she did a good job. He said they will immediately advertise for the position, but added that it will probably take months to get someone hired. Woods said that he and the fair board will be involved in the hiring, but he wasn't sure who would do the job in the meantime.

"There are a lot of things in the background that people don't know about. It's hundreds of hours," said Woods. He said that ultimately, the responsibility falls on the fair board. It was Woods who did all the contracts when McGuigan resigned in February of 2019, but he said he already has a full plate as the mayor of Hot Springs, chief of the Hot Springs Fire Department, and the owner of two businesses in Hot Springs, and looking to start a third. Woods said they will be discussing the matter at the Oct. 11 fair board meeting at the pavilion.