Thomas D. “Tom” Musser put himself through college working at his hometown fair, he booked events at San Francisco’s Cow Palace during its heyday and he’s served as the manager of several fairs, rescuing each one from debt and boosting attendance.

Musser, 57, was recently hired by the Merced County Fair Board of Directors following a search that began in March. He will replace Robin Hauck, who served as the Merced County Fair’s CEO for more than three years. She was hired in October 2005 and resigned March 31 to take the position of Deputy Manager at the Nevada County Fair in Grass Valley. She moved back to the area where she grew up to be closer to family and an ill relative. Pat Kress of Santa Maria is currently serving as the fair’s Interim CEO.

Musser will be paid $79,342 a year and will join the fair staff by July 1 as the Designee CEO and assume full responsibility Aug. 1. He currently lives in Vancouver, WA where he was the Executive Director and Fair Manager of the Clark County Fair in Ridgefield since 1994. Under his 14 years of leadership, the fair eliminated its $4 million debt and increased attendance. Last year’s 10-day event had 265,000 attendance. Despite its deep ag roots, he said the fair, which built an 18,000 seat amphitheater and a 114,000 square foot exhibit hall, shifted its focus from the fair to non-fair events. “The fair was going in a direction that wasn’t working for me,” he said.

Musser served as the Manager of the Madera District Fair in Madera from 1989 to 1993 and became familiar with the Merced County Fair and its excellent reputation. “It’s a great fair, the community still cares about the fair and it’s a well-maintained fairgrounds,” Musser said, adding, “That means a lot to me. This is an opportunity for me to help the fair grow even further and take it to the next level. I am excited about coming to a fair that honors fair traditions while creating new memories.”

Born and raised in Ukiah, Musser worked at the Redwood Empire Fair from the age of 12, starting out cleaning stalls and picking up litter. He continued to work there most summers saving money for college. He graduated from Cal Poly in 1974 with a degree in Industrial Arts. He planned to teach, but after taking a fair management class he decided to pursue a career in the fair industry. He was hired by the San Mateo County Fair as an assistant manager before receiving his college diploma.

His 34 years of experience also includes Operations Officer at the Cow Palace, booking big name concerts and other events and overseeing the Grand National Rodeo, Horse and Livestock Show; Manager of the Gold Country Fair in Auburn, CA. and Interim Manager of the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, CA. During his four years managing the Madera District Fair, he eliminated the fair’s substantial debt, increased attendance, improved public relations and turned around a troubled auto racing program by increasing profitability, implementing a safety program that became a model for other tracks and won two national safety awards.

Jim Cunningham, president of the Merced County Fair Board of Directors, said of the new CEO, "Tom rose to the top from a pool of very strong applicants and the fair board is pleased he has decided to join our team. The Merced County Fair is fortunate to have an exceptional office and maintenance staff and Tom will certainly add to that group. Tom has a strong economic background and a thorough knowledge of buildings and grounds, all of which will be very helpful in this position. Tom wants to get involved in our community and I know he and his wife, Debbi, will make wonderful additions to our area."

Since the fair is July 21-26, shortly after Musser’s July 1 start date, his role will be watching from the sidelines. “My job will be to help where it’s needed and to take a lot of notes and learn a lot. There are a number of people who have their heart in the Merced fair and I am looking forward to working with them to make a strong fair even stronger.

“I will be calling Merced home,” he said adding, “Merced is changing and growing, with the UC there are new people coming to this community and we want to make the Merced County Fair part of their lifestyle.”

The Mussers will soon be moving to Merced. They have two grown children, Melinda and Jeff.

For information, call the fair office at 722-1507, fax at 722-3773 or email to Info@MercedCountyFair.com or go to the 2009 Merced County Fair’s website, www.MercedCountyFair.com