8-24-2023 4:06am

A TIMONIUM FAMILY:

Jeff Barto Editor

Cody Cashman: You Have To Keep Changing The Fair Model

Cashman Family Affair
Cody Cashman (Red River Valley Fair) and kids visiting with Andy Cashman (Maryland State Fair Manager) during the Red River Valley Fair

By: Timothy Herrick, Carnival Warehouse

Cody Cashman CEO of the Red River Valley Fair Association in West Fargo, North Dakota was honored with the Rising Star Award at the 2022 International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). Created by the IAFE Young Professionals Initiative (YPI) to recognize leadership and industry contributions of fair professionals under the age of 40, the 2022 winner has been one of the most persuasive counter arguments against the graying of the fair industry.

Creative, enthusiastic and ambitious, Cashman was named CEO at age 28, at the time, he was youngest manager of a mid-sized fair in North America. That was in May of 2020, and his trial by fire was immediately in session. His first official act was announcing the fair had been cancelled due to COVID. The second act was surviving the global pandemic, which included creating revenue producing events to retain staff and make up lost revenue.

To create new revenue, he successfully remade the Red River Valley Fair into a summer destination event. By 2022, he added a weekend to the fair – it's now a 10-day fair – as well as supersized its grandstand entertainment. Headliners included 3 Doors Down, Tim McGraw and Jason Derulo.

Cody Cashman comes from a fair management family. His father is Andy Cashman, General Manager of the Maryland State Fair. He spent his childhood at fairs and decided at a young age to follow in his father's footsteps. But his path was his own. Cashman showed pigs, sheep and cattle in FFA and 4-H shows, then after graduating from the University of Maryland

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