The Jackson County Fair Board has hired as the next manager of The Expo in Central Point a woman with a history of managing fairs and fairgrounds in California, but who also was dismissed in 2022 from her previous position.

Pamela J. Fyock of Sacramento, who most recently managed fairs in Sacramento and Tulare County, California, was named Wednesday as the new director in a release issued by the Jackson County board.

Reached by phone, Fyock said she hopes to relocate to Southern Oregon and start managing The Expo by Jan. 1. She said she sees “a lot of potential” and hopes to expand fair, fairgrounds and youth livestock and agriculture programs.

“I think there’s a fantastic foundation, and we can build that to the next level,” Fyock said.

Fyock most recently worked as the acting CEO of the Sacramento County Fair until the California Department of Food and Agriculture dismissed her in February 2022 following a pair of state audits.

According to a Feb. 28, 2022, article in The Sacramento Bee, the audits covered her management of fairs in Sacramento and Tulare counties starting in 2013. The article describes, among other irregularities, “weaknesses and deficiencies” in the Sacramento County Fair’s operations that included $107,230 in reimbursements to Fyock for which the supporting documents were improperly discarded.

During the phone interview, Fyock defended herself, saying the financials were solid.

“It was a compliance audit, not a financial audit,” Fyock said Wednesday afternoon. “All my financial audits have been stellar and have been accepted by the CPAs and the state.”

She said her dismissal was the California Department of Food and Agriculture deciding that after the state agency took over, “they didn’t need my services any longer.”

Fyock said that she had the support of the Sacramento fair’s board of directors at the time of her dismissal, which is confirmed in The Sacramento Bee report. In the days before her dismissal, the board voted to put Fyock on a “professional improvement plan,” according to the article. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, however, dismissed Fyock.

“My board stood by me,” Fyock said. “I left the fair a million dollars in the bank when I left.”

Fyock is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a minor in agricultural business. Her experience in the industry also includes roles with the California State Fair and the San Benito County Fair in California.

She said she hopes to see more events big and small at The Expo, whether it’s more quinceaneras or more horse events.

“The fairgrounds is a gem of the community,” Fyock said.

The Jackson County Fair Board described Fyock as a woman with experience as an “event promoter, small business owner and fundraiser,” according to the release announcing her hiring.

She will succeed former director Helen Baker, who stepped down in September after nine years at the helm. 

Calls to Jackson County Fair Board president J.B. Dimick and selection committee member and Central Point Parks and Public Works Director Matt Samitore were not returned Wednesday afternoon, but quotes attributed to them were provided in the release.

“Pam Fyock will be the next manager to the long line of fantastic fair managers,” Dimick said in the release. “The selection committee did a great job finding Pam to lead us moving forward and provide everything the community expects from their Jackson County Expo.”

“The process was very successful in finding our new manager, Pamela Fyock,” Samitore said in the release.