Stanislaus County Fair CEO will leave after record year. He’s headed to Cal Expo
Matt Cranford, chief executive officer at the Stanislaus County Fair since 2015, is moving on to a statewide role.
Cranford will manage facility operations at the California Exposition and State Fair in Sacramento, better known as Cal Expo. He will remain at the Turlock fairgrounds through December, the local fair said in a news release Wednesday.
Kim Williams, now the concessions manager, will be interim CEO until the board makes a permanent hire.
“Matt has been a huge part of the Turlock fairgrounds and will deeply be missed by his community and coworkers,” board President Ray Souza said.
The site hosts a 10-day county fair each July and is rented out for numerous other events at other times.
COVID-19 greatly reduced the fair in 2020 and 2021. It bounced back this year with a record 270,447 people, drawn to livestock competitions, carnival rides, concerts, motor sports and other attractions.
Cranford was born in Fresno and raised in Ceres. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business at California State University, Stanislaus.
Cranford was operations manager at the State Theatre in Modesto before getting into fair management. He ran the San Mateo County Fair just before getting the Stanislaus job.
Cal Expo has a 17-day summer fair, including competitors who won at the county level. The grounds off Highway 80 have many other events year-round.
Williams has worked at the Stanislaus fairgrounds since 2010.
“Kim’s experience of the fair and the operations of the facility will be a benefit as the board looks for a new CEO,” Souza said.
