Santa Maria Fairpark announces CEO is leaving, additional longterm changes could be coming

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The 37th District Agriculture Association (DAA), which operates the Santa Maria Fairpark, has announced the upcoming departure of its chief operating officer Caitlin Miller.

Miller, who has held the position of CEO for nearly three years, will leave on Friday, March 14, 2025, to begin a new position with a local produce company.

"It's been a great three years," said Miller. "We've done a lot. Changes and improvements on the grounds. You know, we got to bring it back from Covid, our first fair and strawberry festival, after not having an event for two years. And looking forward to those different changes and improvements the staff is going to carry forward.  

"Our team has been very happy with Caitlin’s innovative approach to our organization and the potential for the future," said Kevin Merrill, Santa Maria Fairpark Board President. "She will be missed."

The change in leadership comes just weeks ahead of the Fairpark's second biggest annual event, the Santa Maria Valley Strawberry Festival, which will be held April 25-27, 2025.

Miller's departure also comes as planning and preparations for the Santa Barbara County Fair, scheduled for July 9-13, 2025, are continuing and beginning to finalize.

Merrill said an interim chief executive officer will be named soon to help lead the Fairpark through both important community events.

“We've got the Strawberry Festival coming up here in a month," said Merrill. "We think we have that covered and that'll be the same story with the Fair this year. It's in July, so that gives us a little more time, but there are people out in the industry that will step up and come and help us get those programs going.” 

At the same time Miller leaves, the 37th DAA Board of Directors is continuing to plan for the future of its downtown facility.

Recently, work began on a new comprehensive strategic plan called Vision 2030, which will help guide the District through the next several years.

Merrill added that the Board of Directors will work towards solidifying a long-term plan for the Fairpark, which may include a potential relocation to a new site sometime in the future.

"Like any business, we have a strategic plan," said Merrill. "We're here for the community. We think we're a great venue and we want to have the best facility we can for our community and so we're always looking to do see what we can do better. We know that the facility is old going back to the 1950s, and so we're trying to improve on on some of our infrastructure with also looking toward the future, perhaps maybe moving the fairgrounds at a later date and so we can better serve the community that way."

The Fairpark is located between Morrison Avenue and Stowell Road to the north and south, and borders Thornburg Street and Depot Street to the east and west.

The 60-acre property is surrounded by homes, along with Santa Maria High School on the eastside, limiting the growth possibilities for the facility.

"We're looking to the future and Santa Maria growing," said Merrill. "We have growing population and we're kind of getting crowded out here, and again, it's an aging facility, and so do we want to spend money on aging infrastructure or do we want to take that money and put it into a new facility that could serve the community even better."

Merrill didn't speculate when a potential move away from the current state-owned property could take place, but indicated it would take many years for such a move to happen, if it ever did.

As for when Miller's replacement could be named, Merrill said the timeline will take many months for new CEO to come aboard.

"The process for getting a new CEO, we've got to go through the state protocol," said Merrill. "It takes 60 to 90 days to even get the program started and to begin to put a search out, which we have done several times, but we want to go nationwide, and we're looking for the best person, to take care of this and understand what Santa Maria is all about and what the community needs, and so this process will be ongoing for the next year. It could take a year or so to fill that position. In the meantime, we will fill it in wit folks that in the interim, that can help us keep going."