Episode 1: Cindy Hoye, Indiana State Fair Commission Executive Director

For over 34 years, Indiana State Fair Commission Executive Director Cindy Hoye has been celebrating the Hoosier spirit through agricultural heritage, creating a welcoming community, and drawing attention to all things Indiana. Simultaneously, she’s working to increase annual Fair attendance and revenue streams as she and her team work to make the Fairgrounds a place where happiness happens all year. As the annual tradition kicks off in Indianapolis, Hoye discusses her experiences as a leader, what’s in store for this year’s event, and what it means to be the mayor of the most interesting town in Indiana for 18 days in August.   
 

Transcript

Sarah Hempstead: Hello, and thank you for tuning in to Luminate Navigating the Unknown Through Creative Leadership. I'm Sarah Hempstead, principal in charge and CEO of Schmid Associates. It's July in Indianapolis, which in addition to entering the dog days of summer, means we're also nearing the start of the 2022 Indiana State Fair, an annual event dating back to 1852 in military park.

Sarah Hempstead: The fair has been hosted in different cities and at one time trains for the primary means of travel from the old Johnson Farm to the fair in 1892. The fairgrounds landed in its current location at 38th and Fall Creek Road. Since then, the fair has only been canceled four times, including for the pandemic in 2020.

Sarah Hempstead: And the iconic Coliseum and grandstands have been the sites for famous acts like The Beatles in 1964 and New Kids on the Block in 1989. Near and dear to my heart. While everybody knows about the fair itself, people might not know that the State Fairgrounds and Event Center began operating as a year round event center since 1990 with an annual economic impact of $200 million and over 400 jobs.

Sarah Hempstead: The state fairgrounds and event center is laid out. Over 250 acres is home to more than 1 million square feet of event space, and is one of the most flexible event venues in the state. One of the very best parts of my job as an architect and as a CEO is working with brilliant creative leaders who work tirelessly to transform historic organizations into modern current places that serve the public good.

Sarah Hempstead: My guest today is one of those leaders, Cindy Hoy, executive Director of the Indiana State Fair Commission and the mayor of the State Fair, uh, when we're live every summer under her leadership, the fair has experienced significant growth, both annual state fair attendance, but also in the types of acts and the facilities available the rest of the year.

Sarah Hempstead: Cindy, welcome to the show. Oh, thanks Sarah. 

Cindy Hoye: I really appreciate it. Looking forward to this conversation. Excellent. 

Sarah Hempstead: So Cindy, let's talk about how you got involved with, uh, state fairs. Our listeners wanna know about you, your childhood. How'd you end up here? 

Cindy Hoye: Well, it's kind of interesting story. So I grew up like 10 minutes from the fairgrounds.

Cindy Hoye: In fact, the funny story is that one of my grandparents lived in Marcy Village, which is 46th Street, and the other grandparent lived across the street on 38th Street. So some way, somehow I was surrounded. And my calling must have been the fairgrounds, but grew up just loving four H for, I mean one of maybe five kids at North Central that were in a four H club and had this respect because of my great uncle for a love of animals and the land, and then just got this passion about fares and.

Cindy Hoye: I worked at the Texas State Fair as an intern. I was a four H agent up in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and ran a small fairgrounds up there. Then moved on to the,  Wisconsin State Fair and Special Events, and then just came back home to Indiana and started in marketing and have continued on from there.

Cindy Hoye: So I've, I just have had this. Real passion and love about what fair's heartbeats are, and what their souls are, and,  just continue to collect faires all over the world. 

Sarah Hempstead: So as a kid growing up in urban Indianapolis, like what adults around you kind of inspired that love of animals? You talked about a great uncle, right?

Sarah Hempstead: Yeah. And fair culture, 

Cindy Hoye: right. I, and again, I would say my family,  my, my parents,  have always loved,  just understanding that. Rhythm of agriculture and the land. Even though, again, as, as my parents and my family, we were, we were suburbs, you know, we were not necessarily, didn't grow up on a farm, but had a great admiration and respect for that and it really came from the family.

Sarah Hempstead: So the family encouraged you on farms and agriculture and getting involved. Did they encourage you on being a leader, which is a totally different thing, 

Cindy Hoye: right?  I think in all sorts of leadership experiences, you, you,  you, you think about people that you're surrounded by and what they do and what their calling is.

Cindy Hoye: And I, I would say I, I look to, again, my mom, who was not only my. Scout leader growing up in Girl Scouts, she became my four H club leader.  and so it's developing kids from a very early age about setting agendas and  aspiring to roles within that club. Maybe it's a secretary, maybe it's a vice president.

Cindy Hoye: Oh. And you can be the president of your club too. And so at a very early age, you were. Set up to understand what growth as a leader really meant. 

Sarah Hempstead: That's actually one thing that really differentiates the Indiana State Fair is the commitment to four H and, and leaderships. So that makes perfect sense to me.

Sarah Hempstead: Right. Well, 

Cindy Hoye: yeah. I always say that the, the Indiana State Fair and Purdue University extension we're married. I mean, we're at the hip putting on this grand event. And if you look across the country or the world, we are set up very uniquely.  and we really highlight that relationship between the two. 

Sarah Hempstead: So you got involved with Faires, you went to Texas, you went all across the country.

Sarah Hempstead: What brought you back home to India? Well, 

Cindy Hoye: this, the story is really interesting. My,  my dad came back in the day in, in newspapers and not, not computers, social media, whatever. He. He put in the mail, he clipped out a little article about the marketing. This created new position as the marketing director at the Indiana State Fair, and he clipped out the little newspaper article and sent it to me in Wisconsin and said, I think it's time for you to come home.

Cindy Hoye: You should apply for this. So that's not so serving at all. Right. That's a real story. But,  you know, we had a child at that point and there's still that, that, you know, necessity to be around family. And so the opportunity in my career to keep growing and then also to come back home was, it was time. It was, it was the right, it was the right decision.

Sarah Hempstead: And that was almost 35 years ago. 

Cindy Hoye: Yeah, 

Sarah Hempstead: right? This county. Yes. Everybody's county. Right o Okay. So that's what brings you back home and what makes you stay for 35 years with the same organization? Well, I, 

Cindy Hoye: I mean this wonderful,  this iconic institution, called the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center.

Cindy Hoye: You know, 250 acres in the middle of urban Indianapolis and this institution, which is so important to the community and so important to the state. And it is just,   it's a landscape of opportunity is the way I look at it. And while we've had some great successes and we've hit some incredible milestones, there's so much more to go and we've got a, just a really robust.

Cindy Hoye:  master plan. We've just finished a strategic plan for the next three years, and so that, that enthusiasm about growth and being bold and continuing to evolve, I, I always think about fairgrounds as soon as you get complacent and you're like, oh, we're done.  it's just the time that shows your weakness.

Cindy Hoye: I mean, we need to continuing to evolve and change and make this place reflective of. Current, current customers wishes and wants and just making sure that we preserve it and take care of it for the next generation. 

Sarah Hempstead: So I think that's really interesting 'cause it's such an old organization that is doing new and really innovative things.

Sarah Hempstead: So how do you, how do you think about that balance between where the, where the sacred cows are, right? And what's what to do next? 

Cindy Hoye: So that's such an interesting question because our customer. One, especially when you think about the fair. They want their salt water taffy at the same location that they got their salt water taffy five years ago.

Cindy Hoye:  at the same time, they want something new to be beside the salt water taffy stand. So there's this constant balance between that tradition and that memory that we want people to preserve and cherish. At the same time giving those new experiences. So it's always,  I think you, if you talk to the team, I think they look at 70% stays, 30% must always change and be new for the fair.

Cindy Hoye: And then also I would say that same kind of growth look of like, let's preserve this, but we've gotta continue to take that 30% and grow annually. 

Sarah Hempstead: So one of the big changes people are gonna notice this year is the much beloved swine barn, uh, is undergoing a pretty big transformation. So let's talk about what that project is gonna do, but maybe start with how, how you got it done, how you got a major capital project done over a pandemic and mm-hmm.

Sarah Hempstead: The last two years of struggle. 

Cindy Hoye: Well, first of all, you,  it's,  one of the most important things that I will, will say about leadership. It is not about me. It's about this incredible team of people that have locked into the strategy and the purpose and the passion, and are energized by it, just like I am.

Cindy Hoye: And so, again, let, and let me also step backwards and say one of the most unique things, and so. Wonderful about Indiana and the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center. Is that. Countless governors over,  decades and decades and decades, and countless legislators over decades and decades and decades have realized the importance of this institution for citizens of Indiana and have put the resources forward to make sure that, again, we preserve it and we enhance it.

Cindy Hoye: We take care of its bones. But we continue to make it viable in today's world, so, so yes. I mean this wonderful Indiana Farm Bureau, fall Creek Pavilion slash swine barn took probably about seven years to get the process moving, and there were some. Starts and stops as we went along.  and I, I thank you.

Cindy Hoye: And your organization, Schmidt Associates, your vision for how to solve the hill problem. And I guess people don't think about it on the fairgrounds. The elevation change from one part of the fairgrounds to the sets from the north side of the fairgrounds. So the south side of the fairgrounds and the. The previous wine barn was the poster child for that.

Cindy Hoye: It probably a elevation change of about 12 to 15 feet. Is that about right? I, that's about right. Yeah. And so your company creatively figured out a way to solve that challenge. And the challenge is loading and unloading and of livestock and, and how that works. I mean, when the fairgrounds was. Designed and built in the late 1890s.

Cindy Hoye:  and then now we move ahead to the, to the two thousands. When it was built in the 1890s, it was built for. Fairgoers to bring their animals by train.  and you said that at the very beginning about trains and their importance and, and that's how they brought their livestock to be shown. So they didn't have to worry about 55 foot livestock trailers going up a hill and down a hot hill and backing in and.

Cindy Hoye: So again, the solution that you found,  for the Indiana Farm Bureau Fa Creek Pavilion, its future is so, it is a premier state-of-the-art facility that is gonna open for livestock. So number one, thanks to you for understanding the purpose and the responsibility of livestock at the same time. In today's world, when you're, you can't.

Cindy Hoye: Well, well, let's go backwards. Back in the day when these livestock barns were built, they were built for a single purpose. So we had the cattle barn, and it was this four and a half acre building that was built just for cattle, right? So in today's world, it doesn't make any sense for single use. So we had to look at how do we modify this building and make sure that it can do sort of a couple different.

Cindy Hoye:  key business sectors. And one of the things again that you helped us design is as we look at the structure, not only are we gonna make it a premier livestock facility, but now it's a premier sports facility because it's gonna host indoor track and field. So you, you design the columns that,  could provide the width that you needed for television, television cameras that would broadcast indoor track and field.

Cindy Hoye: So there had to be multiple.  business sectors that you took a look at as you were designing the space, and it will be incredible. And now I've lost track of your question. No, no. It's okay. 

Sarah Hempstead: No, I mean, and I think we took, we took our, our tone from leadership at the fairgrounds, which is everything at the fairgrounds needs to be used for multiple things and needs to serve year round, which actually what makes me, uh, wanna pivot to what the fairgrounds was used for when it was.

Sarah Hempstead: Shut down effectively for events. I, I know it was a COVID vaccination site. I know it was a food pantry.  can you talk a little bit about the role the fairground serves in service to our neighbors and the, uh, stakeholders and taxpayers in, in Indiana? 

Cindy Hoye: So it's important relationships,  in any organization, relationships and partnerships.

Cindy Hoye: And we have a great relationship with Dr. Kane. We also have,  uh, a great relationship with Representative Porter and both of those individuals said, Hey, can you help us?  we have needs and we, we need to make sure and, and help the community. And we said, well, what can we do? Let, what doors can we open?

Cindy Hoye: So we were, I want a temporary homeless shelter. We were also. A overflow, quote unquote, hospital if need be. We were a testing site, so we served a lot of different purposes during that time.  but the most important thing that we did from the very beginning as an organization is we said, all right, we are, we are closing down, so let's, let's decide our purpose.

Cindy Hoye: And our purpose, number one, was to retain employees to take care of those. That needed a paycheck and that went beyond just full-time employees to those part-time workers too. So that's what we prioritized from the very beginning. And being able to prioritize employees and help the community was a win-win.

Sarah Hempstead: So how did you as a leader. Navigate and communicate during that, that period. 'cause it was uncertainty across all sectors. Right, right, right. So, so how did you manage that? 

Cindy Hoye: Well, I mean, it just,  very unique times and we just, like everybody else pivoted and. Used,  used the phone a lot, used the, uh, zoom a lot, just did any, anything in every way that we could to communicate to the team what we knew and what we knew we didn't know.

Cindy Hoye: Right, right, right. So,  so we, we used those resources.  it also, again, in prioritizing people, we did things that are kind of funny. Um. We didn't cut the grass for months. I mean, I think if you drove by the fairgrounds, you would've said, what in the world is going on over there? It's native planet, right?

Cindy Hoye: Native planets,  made some mistakes along the way. Sarah, you'd appreciate this.  I always think it's good to understand the winds, but also understand what, what you might have done differently and. Uh, we unplugged electric and all the buildings.  when you do that in some of these older buildings, it causes a little bit of angst when you turn those systems back on.

Cindy Hoye: We learned a little bit. A little bit, yeah.  so anyway, the savings we might have had in electricity, in the water, uh, didn't really equate to the very end, but, but I think it, I, I guess what was important is just to be honest in communicating to our team. Look, we don't know. Here's all the things we do know, but here are all the things we don't know and you're gonna have to bear with us.

Cindy Hoye:  and I think it was most challenging.  uh, the, the fair of 2020, which we actually had a miniature fair in 2020, we prioritized the four H kids. All these kids that had livestock projects that were finding they are county fairs were not happening. You know, the rumblings of the state fair not happening and we gr grouped up this team of leaders within the organization and said, look, how can we put on a livestock event event for those four H kids?

Cindy Hoye: And so that's again, what we prioritize in 2020. So I think one of the, one of the judges said, uh, Indiana found a way. So a lot of those, a lot of those states who didn't,  we were, we were known as Indiana, found a way to hold these events.  and then 2020, you know, it wasn't until the third week of May that we finally learned that we would not have restrictions, social distancing.

Cindy Hoye: All those kinds of things. And a lot of the decisions had already been made,  but again, had a great fair in 21 and just super looking forward to this fair in 22. 

Sarah Hempstead: So did you learn anything over that process upon reflection? That really is a best practice that'll move forward into how the event. Uh, happen year round or maybe just at the fair?

Cindy Hoye: Yeah. Uh, I would say one of the, the things we learned and we're going to, we have made a decision to do it in 22 and made a decision to do it in 23, and then we'll regroup and that gives us a chance to refresh the grounds to change out the barns to. Repurpose some programming to make sure all the sanitizing stations are restocked, so that closing on Mondays and Tuesdays, not only did it spread out the crowds, it gave staff a chance to regroup, and it also gave us a chance to make sure the property was safe for people coming back out.

Cindy Hoye: Awesome. 

Sarah Hempstead: I wanna pivot a little bit to farmers. I mean, the premier, uh, the premier place to highlight agriculture in Indiana is the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  and doubling down on education of future farmers, but also, uh, current farmers. There's a Hoosier practicality that I love about, uh, Indiana farmers that goes to sustainability without necessarily using the words mm-hmm.

Sarah Hempstead: Of sustainability. Right. Right. It's about how can we best use our resources?  wondering how, uh, sustainable practical initiatives are integrated throughout, throughout the fairgrounds day to day? 

Cindy Hoye: Well, I would say we are late to the game, but,  and that's just being honest. At the same time, uh, sustainability is one of our key metrics for our next strategic plan that we're under right now.

Cindy Hoye:  I'll take the Indiana Farm Bureau, fall Creek Pavilion and, and tell you that when we. Demoed the current structure, 85% was diverted from a landfill. So I'm really grateful for that.  based on our protect the harvest, we have, uh, joined up with IE and received a grant from them. And so we have all new recycled containers throughout the fairgrounds that people are gonna notice this year.

Cindy Hoye: I think the most important platform for us is to be the educator. So come have fun at the fair, but wait. You might learn something while you're there, which is really what we're all about anyway. We, we want people to walk away with something, something new and a morsel about agriculture that they didn't expect to learn while they were at the fair.

Cindy Hoye: Um. And one of the places where that education takes place, but in a fun way is the glass barn. And the glass barn was a collaboration between the soybean alliances, soybean farmers, and, and ourselves of saying. We should be, we, we should have a, just a clear vision of farming. So farming should, should be transparent so that people can see the way they are working with a land,  and what you're talking about, sustainability or look at the way that they're handling their livestock.

Cindy Hoye: So, so that's the whole concept of this. And, and also I kind of go back to, 'cause I love the history so. I think it was in,  1857 that,  Lincoln was President Lincoln was addressing. Uh,  he was, he was doing a keynotes,  speech at the Wisconsin State Fair, and he talked about fairs and how important they were for farmers to farmers to come together and learn something about agriculture, and that was the kind of the root or the foundation of these fairs.

Cindy Hoye: Well, today. Our goal is that a farmer intersects with a customer, and so they learn something today, and Corteva does this with their featured Farmer of the Day program, and it's a way for that consumer who's out just enjoying their experience at the fair to cross paths with the farmer and learn something about production agriculture.

Sarah Hempstead: I love that When my kids were little, it was little hands on the farm. Yes. Right. The whole production cycle. Mm-hmm. Of where does your food come from? 'cause they knew about tomatoes from my backyard, but that's about it. 

Cindy Hoye: Yeah. And little hands on the farm, it's. It's really been fun. We cur, we created it and it is actually, it's at the Texas State Fair, the Iowa State Fair, the Minnesota State Fair.

Cindy Hoye: And it's a way that actually the parent now can become the educator. So as you're going along, you're helping to tell the story of agriculture to your child.  who would've thought that would've happened, but it is one of those foundational. Kind of,  programs that we offer during the fair. 

Sarah Hempstead: Oh, you're tricking people into learning things.

Sarah Hempstead: I love it. That's right. I never think about it. That's right. So, so let's talk about, uh, a different level of learning, which is.  out of your learning as a leader, you have, you have had some great times at the fair and sometimes that are not so great, right? So, so what tools, what tools do you bring from all those learnings to the next hard thing that makes kind of lemon shakeups out of at a lemons?

Cindy Hoye: Yeah. So,  you know, I really don't talk about it very often, but the, the lessons that happen with the stage roof collapse again for me as a leader. Kind of the tool is my faith and my family that's always in my box.  I think it is important to know what you can control and then focus on elements.

Cindy Hoye: That, uh, focus on elements that you can control versus those that you can't control. Right.  I think the, the, the lesson for me in tough,  in crisis leadership is I, I'll go back to my mom and that is, you know, throw your shoulders back, stand up straight. Face it, head on.  deal with the cards that are dealt with you and then make it better.

Cindy Hoye:  that is always the foundation. Four H has a motto of making the best better, and my foundation is always based on how can I make it better? The. The stage roof collapse. I think, you know, in the way I look at it, outdoor entertainment is so much better and so much safer than it was in 2011, and I think so not only did we learn lessons.

Cindy Hoye: But the entire industry, so anything from outdoor football to outdoor concerts,  there were lessons that were learned that will forever change that space. Thank goodness.  and I think that's the same with COVID. I mean, we've learned lessons from CVID that will forever,  change, and I think that's important in leadership that.

Cindy Hoye: Uh, during those missteps, during those challenging times, you, you have to learn and you have to be receptive to learning and growth. And, and, you know, that's, I'm sure you're in the same space here, is that you never stop learning. The minute you stop learning, you, you're, you're done. You're right. You're done.

Cindy Hoye:  and so whether that is reading or that.  questions or listening to things like this, you constantly have to open your mind to, to growth. 

Sarah Hempstead: Well, so that kind of leads directly to my next question, which is, as a leader, some, sometimes it's hard to remember to refill your bucket for your own emotional health and energy, so mm-hmm.

Sarah Hempstead: So what tools do you use to do that? 

Cindy Hoye: Well, the tool that,  that I developed,  over some, some tough times is walking, and I know that's really silly, but being, getting outside. Especially spaces that are rich with nature. I've always been a fan and have. Loved walking in the parks.  I think that's, that.

Cindy Hoye: I think it just clears your head at the same time.  I have a little bit of a creative art space and when I have a chance to dig into the paints, that's always fulfilling. It's not pretty sometimes, but doesn't have to be. Right. Right. So, um. And I think for me personally at this stage in life,  what refills my tank or my grand babies,  and also just to see what,  how their eyes brighten at things that happen on the fairgrounds too is very fulfilling for me.

Sarah Hempstead: Okay, so you're about to be the mayor of the most interesting town in the state of Indiana. So, uh, so what do we need to know about this year? Oh my 

Cindy Hoye: gosh. It is just gonna be the best. We're calling it fun at the speed of summer, and that's because Indiana has a rich automobile history.  if you think about it, the Auburn, the deusenberg, the just goes on and on and on that we're.

Cindy Hoye: I mean, steel was readily available in Indiana. Crossroads of Indiana happened and at one point we could have been the next Detroit.  and so there's this rich automobile history and so looking forward to elevating that. We've worked with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tom Wood Automotive Group, a sponsoring the fair this year.

Cindy Hoye: So everything CAR is gonna be fun to see at the fair, in addition to. Your saltwater taffy and all the taste of the fair, all those unique products and the carnival and the entertainment. It's, it's just a, a blend. And I think that's what's special about us. I,  one of my favorite things about the fair is this blend of urban and rural that comes together just to.

Cindy Hoye: Enjoy the summer together and just,  have some fun, entertaining memory making times with their families. That's excellent. 

Sarah Hempstead: All right. I'm gonna ask you my one final question. Okay. It's tempting to ask you about food, but how can you pick a favorite? I mean, you have some, you can't. You can't. No. So I'm gonna ask you to ask everybody else, which is, what are you reading right now that everybody else should pick?

Cindy Hoye: Well, I don't know. I don't know about that, but I, but I did talk to you about the parks and there's a great book that I'm reading right now,  that is,  it's called Leave Only Footprints, and it is a. Young journalists that,  for the, for the, I guess it was the 200th anniversary of the national parks.

Cindy Hoye: He went on a journey and, and went to a lot of the national parks and kind of his story of what he learned.  I really like,  and again, I'm in the middle of it. I'm not done. The other one I'm in the, at the beginning, not at the end, is forces of good. Mm-hmm. And it's about nonprofits. It's kind of like good to great examples.

Cindy Hoye: Yeah. Which really focused on nonprofits and their success and what they've learned. And so that's, that's always a good one too. Awesome. 

Sarah Hempstead: Thank 

Cindy Hoye: you. 

Sarah Hempstead: Uh, thanks for spending time with me. It was awesome. I knew it. I knew it would be an awesome guest. And given our listeners so much to think about, uh, and some stuff to pick up and read.

Sarah Hempstead: Uh, everybody come to the fair, uh, July 29th through August 21st. It's a great place to learn and grow, uh, through four H To learn from Purdue, go to Pioneer Village, uh, ride the Ferris wheel, eat a lot of stuff, get. For me, it's a vanilla shake and an elephant ear. But you know, you make your own choice at whatever your reason for attending and then come back the rest of the year.

Sarah Hempstead: 'cause there's a, mm-hmm bunch of amazing events from the Mecca Auto Show to the Gunna Knife Show to the Flower and Patio show, to a concerts, or come for ice skating. There's a million reasons to go. Uh, we hope to see you there. Thanks everybody for listening, and we'll see you next time. Thanks.