Fair Systems That Work

10/15/2026

Well, look at what just went live!

My Book!! Who's Actually Accountable Here?
Canadian 🇨🇦 link:
https://a.co/d/0dRvJIGU

USA 🇺🇸 link:
https://www.amazon.com/WHOS-ACTUALLY-ACCOUNTABLE-HERE-Everyone/dp/B0HKNW5T8H

Aus LInk:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0HKNW5T8H

Every fair has one. The person who knows where the keys are. Who has the password. Who remembers why that policy exists. Who knows who to call when something goes sideways. And eventually somebody says: Who Is Actually Accountable Here? is for agricultural fairs, societies and shows tired o...

10/14/2026

See you all tomorrow! ❤️❤️

When you walk onto your local fairgrounds every summer, it feels seamless. The barn exhibits are organized, youth livestock shows run smoothly, local growers have a stage to shine, and community safety is dialed in behind the scenes.

None of that happens by accident.

This week, fair directors, organizers, and agricultural leaders from across British Columbia are gathering at the Saanich Fairgrounds for the annual BC Fairs Learning Exchange.

They are sitting down to share what worked, problem-solve volunteer recruitment, plan resilient events, and ensure our province’s agricultural heritage stays vibrant for the next generation. It is dedicated off-season work like this that keeps grassroots fairs affordable, safe, and welcoming for every family in your community.

Every great memory made at a BC fair starts months ahead with volunteer boards learning and planning together. For those attending, we will see you soon!

10/14/2026

“But we can’t upset them. They’re the only person who knows how to do it.”

That sentence can get very expensive.

Because sometimes there’s a person at your fair who knows everything about one particular area.

They know the contacts.
They know the process.
They know where everything is.
They’ve been doing it for years.

And they’re incredibly valuable.

There’s just one problem.

They’re also in constant conflict with other board members.

Volunteers don’t want to work with them.

New people come in excited to help and quietly disappear.

Everyone knows there’s a problem, but nobody wants to address it because...

“What would we do without them?”

So the behaviour gets worked around.

The conflict gets tolerated.

And protecting the knowledge of one person slowly starts costing you the knowledge, energy and involvement of everyone else.

That’s not really a personality problem.

It’s a systems problem.

Because no fair can afford to have an entire area living inside one person’s head.

Here’s what I would do.

Separate the person from the knowledge.

Document the process.
Build the contact lists.
Create the timelines.
Train someone beside them.
Make the role transferable.

Not because that person isn’t valuable.

Because they are.

And so is everyone else.

When one person becomes “too important to lose,” sometimes we forget to count how many people we’re already losing to keep them.

And THAT is a cost worth paying attention to.

10/12/2026

Want to know where the holes are in your fair’s systems?

Ask the person who joined last year.

Not the person who’s been there for 27 years.

They already know that the key marked “office” doesn’t actually open the office.

They know you have to call Dave for the livestock gate.

They know the volunteer schedule says 7:00, but everyone actually arrives at 6:30.

They know the extension cords are in the shed.

No, not that shed.

The other shed.

😂

None of this feels confusing anymore when you’ve been around long enough.

You just know.

But then someone new joins your board or volunteers for the first time...

and suddenly they’re asking questions nobody has asked in years.

That’s not annoying. That’s information.

Every “How was I supposed to know that?” is showing you something your fair has never written down, explained, labelled, or made easier to find.

So instead of answering the question and carrying on, try something different:

Write the question down.

Keep a little “Need to Know” list (as someone commented on a post last week) and add to it throughout the year.

Every time somebody has to ask where, who, when, why or how, add it.

Because those questions are practically writing your future checklists, orientation and handoffs for you.

And the beautiful part?

The new person who “doesn’t know anything yet” might be exactly the person showing you what everyone else has stopped noticing.

What’s one completely normal thing at your fair that would make absolutely NO sense to a brand-new volunteer? 😂

One of the questions I like asking fairs is:

“What does everybody here just know?”

Because that’s usually where things get interesting.

The answer starts uncovering all those little pieces of knowledge your fair depends on, but nobody realizes are living in someone’s head instead of in the system.

And that’s exactly the kind of stuff I love digging into.

10/10/2026

“That volunteer is a pain in the ass.”

Except… he wasn’t.

A fair reached out to me after a volunteer shift went sideways.

They had a new volunteer join the team who needed some additional support.

The problem?

His support worker hadn’t been included in the volunteer registration.

So when things started going sideways, the other volunteers didn’t have the context they needed.

Frustration started building.

And what they saw was a volunteer who was being difficult.

What they actually had was an information gap.

Nobody needed to be the bad guy here.

The volunteer wanted to help.

The other volunteers were trying to do their jobs.

The fair wanted everyone to have a good experience.

The system just hadn’t asked the right question.

We ask volunteers for their phone number.

Their availability.

Their emergency contact.

Hell, sometimes even their T-shirt size.

But maybe there’s another question worth adding:

“Is there anything we can provide or be aware of that would help make your volunteer experience successful?”

And perhaps:

☐ I may require an accommodation
☐ I will be volunteering with a support person/worker
☐ I would like someone to contact me before my shift to discuss what I need
☐ No additional support needed

If someone will be accompanied by a support person, collect that person's name and contact information too.

Not everyone on the volunteer team needs to know someone's diagnosis or personal information.

But the person coordinating that volunteer needs enough information to set them up for success.

Inclusion isn't simply saying, “Everyone is welcome.”

It’s building systems that actually make it possible for everyone to participate.

Because sometimes the difference between:

“That volunteer is a pain in the ass.”

and

“That volunteer is fantastic.”
..is one question nobody thought to ask.

“What would help you be successful here?”

10/07/2026

A code of conduct means very little if it only applies to the people your fair can afford to lose.

There. I said it.

Fair boards are filled with people who know fairs.
They know livestock, entertainment, gates, volunteers, vendors, sponsorships, buildings, budgets and how to pull off the impossible with six volunteers and a roll of duct tape.

But knowing how to run a fair doesn’t automatically mean knowing how to navigate serious conflict between people.

Some people are comfortable having difficult conversations.

Others freeze. Avoid. Hope it blows over.

Not because they don’t care.

Conflict is uncomfortable, especially when everyone involved still has to sit around the same board table next month.

Then add a strong personality. A longtime volunteer. Someone everybody relies on.

Now what?

This is one reason I offer mediation and conflict support.

When I’m brought into a situation like this, I’m not starting with who I think is right or wrong.

I’m looking at what happened.

What do the bylaws and policies say?
What process is already in place?
Where has communication broken down?

And what needs to happen so the people involved can actually move forward?

Bringing in a neutral third party doesn’t mean the executive hands over its authority or responsibility.

And it certainly doesn’t mean the board has failed.

Sometimes it means the exact opposite.

It means the board has recognized that the people sitting around the table have history, friendships, loyalties and working relationships with each other.

A neutral person doesn’t.

That creates space to deal with the conflict without forcing the executive into opposing camps or asking individual directors to suddenly become referee, investigator and conflict-resolution expert overnight.

My job isn’t to pick a side.

It’s to help lower the temperature, work through the policies and bylaws already in place, facilitate the difficult conversations and help create a process people can trust.

The board still governs.

The board still makes its decisions.

But the people sitting around that table have some help navigating the messy human part.

Because sometimes leadership isn’t having all the answers.

Sometimes it’s recognizing when the room could use someone who isn’t already sitting in it.

So what happens when the person accused of breaking your code of conduct is someone your fair thinks it can’t function without?

You go back to the process.

Not their popularity.
Not how long they’ve been there.
Not how much they know.
Not how difficult they would be to replace.

The same bylaws, policies and expectations that apply to everyone else still apply to them.

And if the board is too close to the situation, divided on what happens next, or simply doesn’t know how to navigate the conflict, bring in someone neutral to help.

That’s not giving away the board’s authority.

That’s giving the board a fair process to work from.

This is part of the work I do with fairs through Fair Systems That Work.

If something messy has landed on your board table and nobody quite knows what to do with it, let’s talk.

You are not alone.

10/04/2026

Quick question before your AGM…

When was the last time you actually read your bylaws?

Not found them.

Not sent them to someone.

Not said, “I’m pretty sure the bylaws say…”

Actually sat down and READ them. 👀

Because AGM season is coming, and somewhere right now there is a fair board operating under bylaws written when half the things they do today didn’t exist.

The organization changed.

The board changed.

How people volunteer changed.

How meetings happen changed.

And meanwhile, the bylaws have been sitting quietly in a folder thinking it’s still 2007.

I ask about bylaws when I’m working with fairs because they tell me a lot.

Not just about governance.

They show me whether the rules on paper match the organization that actually exists today.

And that matters.

Because bylaws aren’t supposed to be the dusty document you drag out when somebody disagrees at a meeting.

They’re part of the structure underneath how your organization makes decisions, defines roles and keeps things moving when people change.

So with AGM season coming, here’s what I would do:

Pull them out.

Read them with fresh eyes.

Ask:

Does this still reflect how we operate today?

You might discover everything is perfectly fine.

You might also discover your bylaws still expect someone to send a fax.

Either way, better to find out "before" someone says:

“Hang on… what do the bylaws say?” 😬

When was the last time your board actually reviewed yours?

And no, “I have no idea” is absolutely an acceptable answer. 😂

10/03/2026

If the only time your sponsors hear from you is when you need money… that’s not much of a sponsor relationship.

Fair ends.

You thank them.
You deliver what you promised.
Everyone collapses.

Then six months later:

“Hi Bob! Hope you’ve been well! Would you like to sponsor us again?”

😬

Here’s something I think we could do differently in fair world:

Give your sponsors something when you owe them nothing.

Here’s what I would do.

Share a great photo of what their support helped make possible.

Tag them months after the fair.

Tell your community, “ABC Construction helped make this happen.”

Not because it was promised in their package.

Because they supported your fair and **they’re worth talking about.**

This is exactly the kind of thing I help fairs with: finding the places you’re rebuilding every year and putting simple systems in place so the work, relationships and knowledge you’ve already built don’t disappear between fair seasons.

Sponsor relationships are a pretty damn good example.

And no, you don’t need to become Bob’s pen pal. 😂

Just stay connected when you need absolutely nothing from him.

Your sponsor already chose your fair once.

Keep that relationship warm between fair seasons.

Then when sponsorship season rolls around again, it doesn’t feel like you’re starting from scratch.

You’re simply continuing the conversation.

10/03/2026

Just Dropped - Chaos to Confidence Newsletter

https://fair-systems-that-work.kit.com/posts/the-pothole-theory-of-fair-management

10/03/2026

Can we talk about social media etiquette for a minute?

Because somewhere between the Share button, screenshots, Canva, and copy/paste, I think we've gotten a little fuzzy on what's actually okay.

And honestly, most of us were never taught this stuff.

So here are a few situations worth thinking about:

Someone writes a post you love.
Share it.
Add your thoughts.
Give them credit.

Beautiful.

Someone writes a post you disagree with.
Share it and disagree.
Conversation is good.
We don't all need to think the same way.

Someone creates a graphic you love.
Share the original rather than downloading it, removing their branding and posting it as your own.

Someone takes a great photo at your fair.
Don't assume that because your fair is "in" the photo, the photo belongs to you.
Ask.

And here's one people may not have thought about:

Someone writes original content, but you don't like the image they chose.

Taking their words, replacing their image with one you prefer and republishing the whole thing isn't really sharing anymore.

You've edited someone else's work.

Even if you tag them.

Even if you had good intentions.

Even if your picture is bloody spectacular. 😂

I'm seeing more and more of this as I create content and work with fairs, and I don't think most of it comes from people trying to steal anything.

I think the rules of digital sharing aren't always obvious.

My rule is pretty simple:

Share freely.
Credit generously.
If you want to change someone else's work, ask first.

We can spread good ideas without accidentally taking ownership of how someone else created them.

And in an industry built on community, that's probably a pretty good standard to have.