Strategic Planning Meeting #1 Recap

April 17, 2017

Last week we hosted our first official Strategic Planning meeting. As we look at the future of Fairplex begin planning for the 100-year anniversary of the LA County Fair in 2022 we will look to these meetings for our next steps.

Our strategic planning sessions are open to the public — all are welcome to join our discussions as we move forward. To learn more about how these meetings work, click here.

Each session focuses on specific topics related to Fairplex’s past, present and future. Last week we covered Agriculture and Food, and Education and Craft Skill Development. Here’s some of what was discussed:

Agriculture & Food
We looked back on our agricultural roots — how we started as a simple beet field and have transformed into the dynamic educational event space that we are today. We also took a look at our present ag efforts (the Farm expansion, bringing in livestock, etc) and how we can expand upon this in the future.

Our topic leader, Chef David Teig, also brought in thought leaders in the Ag & Food space to speak on these topics as a whole, and how this could / will affect Fairplex in the future. Subtopics included food & ag education, food trends, job growth and job training in the culinary work space.

After our presentations we had time to listen to what our guests had to say. From our neighbors to educators to government officials, the consensus was clear: to expand our potential, we need to remember our roots.

Education & Craft Skill Development
While everyone knows that the LA County Fair is produced by Fairplex, not everyone knows about the work we do in education. The Learning Centers at Fairplex, which we wrote about last week, is a core part of who we are and what we do.

Our topic leader, Thomas Canavan of the Millard Sheets Art Center, gave a brief introduction for each of our centers, then moved into our vision for the future. Our ideas are centered around our students — preparing them for the future, creating more learning opportunities and allowing potential to thrive.

Lucas Rivera, vice president of Grand Park LA, spoke on how he has worked to create real, genuine community within the arts with the work he has done in the city of Los Angeles. Dr. Holly Reynolds, director of the Child Development Center, spoke more about the importance of education, especially in younger children.

Following their presentations, the room as a whole discussed various aspects of art and education both at Fairplex and in Southern California as a whole.

For a full copy of meeting notes, presentations and other documents, please visit our website. We look forward to upcoming meetings and the discussions to follow!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.
Required fields are marked *