Q&A with Kirk Slaughter, new president and CEO of OK State Fair

VeloCityOKC: Jumping right in, we'd love to learn more about you. Where did you grow up? Where'd you go to high school? College? Tell us about your family. 

Kirk Slaughter: I read the article you did on Tim and he's just such a great person, just so well known, so well respected. I definitely have some big shoes to fill here. 

I grew up in Odessa, Texas, out in the Permian Basin and the oil patch. I grew up working in the oil fields as a young kid, spraying weeds and learning the value hard work out in the cold and in the hot summer heat. Odessa-Midland is a city of about 300,000 and it’s kind of a desert scenario, but a whole lot of oil gets pumped out of that part of the world. 

In high school, I went to a place called Permian High School in Odessa. You’ll know that school because of the book and the movie “Friday Night Lights.” That's where I played football as a kid and it was a lot of fun, a lot of tradition, a lot of neat things happened back during those days. Then after graduating high school, I attended Texas Tech University where I got my degree in marketing. I loved going to school at Texas Tech. It was up in Lubbock and still kind of west Texas and that has a climate very similar to Oklahoma City temperature wise.  

"If you think about the Oklahoma State Fair and the City of Oklahoma City, there's been great leadership here. Great leadership that has a can-do spirit and they know how to make things happen."

I am married. My wife's name is Holly and she is in the horse show business. She works for the American Paint Horse Association, which is the second largest equine breed registry in the world. Prior to working for the American Paint Horse Association, she worked with the Appaloosa Horse Club, which back when she worked there, they brought a national championship show with a youth world show component here to Oklahoma City to the fairgrounds. She teaches me a lot about horse shows, which of course is a big part of our business and our tourism industry here in Oklahoma City. 

I have a daughter Jaden, who is attending Texas Tech University and she'll be a senior this year. I also have a son, Jake, who is an actor living in LA. I call him a starving actor but his most recent success was he was the lead male talent in the Ford Truck Month commercial that aired during the Olympics this year. 

Share with us a brief summary of your professional background leading up to you joining Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. What drew you to this position and organization? 

Most of my career has been in the tourism industry and related industries. I started out in the convention and visitors' bureau industry, like what Zac Craig does here in Oklahoma City. During those years I also operated convention centers, worked in the hotel business, operated a sports authority and big horse show venues. And so from 1998 through 2019, I operated for the City of Fort Worth the Fort Worth Sports Authority, a local government corporation, which owns the Texas Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the state of Texas and where the NASCAR races occur. I had the Office of Outdoor Events at the same time so if somebody wanted to do a marathon or big outdoor event, then we would manage all that to make sure we had the proper police and fire coverage, water stations, things of that type. I also simultaneously managed the Fort Worth Convention Center and went through one expansion with that venue. I was there when we did the Omni Fort Worth Hotel project, which we opened in 2009, and also had master planned the next expansion for the Fort Worth Convention Center prior to leaving my job there. 

"I absolutely love what I do. It's just a great industry. And the reality is we're here to bring tourism dollars into this great city to support jobs."

I simultaneously operated the Will Rogers Memorial Center which is one of the largest and busiest equestrian horse show and multipurpose venues anywhere in the country and in the world. It’s a direct competitor to Oklahoma City and Tulsa. When you look at the horse show business, it's mainly controlled by Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Fort Worth and a lot of it has to do with location within the country. Because if you have horses in Florida or California or New York, this part of the country is a great place to be able to haul those horses to show for these big championship shows. 

Well, it sounds like you had just a few things to keep you busy! I don't know how you had any downtime for yourself. 

Well, I'll tell you, I absolutely love what I do. It's just a great industry. And the reality is we're here to bring tourism dollars into this great city to support jobs. I mean, think of all the folks that work in restaurants and in hotels and shopping venues and all that, which benefit from the tourism dollars. And recall what happened over the last couple years, whenever COVID hit, all that tourism stopped and it affected many, many jobs out there. So, I think for the first time in my career, cities are really beginning to understand and appreciate what tourism dollars can do for their communities. 

That's an incredible perspective to be able to have and see that before and after. What drew you to this position specifically? 

What drew me to the organization, I'll tell you what I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call from a national recruiter about interest in Oklahoma City, because there's just so many things about this city and the organization that we love and respect. First, you have to realize there's a great staff here. Tim did a wonderful job of putting together a great organization. The tradition of the Oklahoma State Fair is incredible. It's one of the largest fairs anywhere in the country and it's a major production and this staff does a great job producing it. And of course, the chance to go to work for a long-time competitor, it seemed to be unbelievable that I could operate the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth with all these big, massive horse shows and then go to work for my biggest competitor in Oklahoma City. I mean, what a career I'll be able to look back on and say, “Oh my goodness, I worked in two of the best places anywhere in the world for these big horse shows.” When I look back on it, I kind of have to sigh a little bit. It’s pretty neat.  

The move to OKC wasn’t too far up I-35 from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, but a change in location is always an adjustment with finding new favorite restaurants, a coffee shop, etc. How are you and your family settling in to OKC? What do you enjoy most about the city? Are there any new places or activities you’ve found you like to visit or do? 

The funny thing about it is from the Texas Motor Speedway, on the north part of Fort Worth, to my office today is about two hours and 45 minutes. Now, unless the construction, you know there's a lot of construction between Oklahoma and Texas right now, but if there's not a lot of construction, it's only about a two hour and 45-minute drive.  

I'll tell you what, one of the things that's really cool about where we've settled out in the west part of Oklahoma City. There's a place called Summer Moon, which is a coffee shop, and it was our favorite coffee shop near our house in Fort Worth. And when we got here, we were looking out west towards Yukon, and we said, “oh my goodness, this must be where we need to live.” So, we settled out in that area because the one thing my wife said when we knew we were coming to Oklahoma City is she wanted to have a little bit of space. So, we did get a little bit of land but now I have a bigger lawn to mow. 

"The tradition of the Oklahoma State Fair is incredible. It's one of the largest fairs anywhere in the country and it's a major production and this staff does a great job producing it."

Summer Moon, when it opened near where we lived up in north Fort Worth, we would go on Saturdays and Sundays, usually at least one day out of the weekend to just relax and grab us some coffee. And so now, we can do that probably only about 10 minutes from where we live. 

That's great you have a piece of your former home in your new one. Is there anything that you've found that you particularly like to do in this city or that you've fallen in love with? 

I'll tell you what we love about it. There's a lot of friendly people here. The culture is very comparable to the culture that I grew up in west Texas. And it's very comparable to what we had in Fort Worth. People are friendly. They’ll talk to you, and they'll do anything for you. So we really, really enjoy that about Oklahoma City, because if I had been asked to move to other parts of the country, or if I had an opportunity in other parts of the country, I don't know if it would've been a good fit. And the fact that that my wife is in the horse show business and is very well respected, it's a great, great fit. Plus, a lot of the customers that already come here to the OKC fairgrounds, I've known them for years. It's just like I didn't miss any beats. 

And we enjoy all the districts around town including Midtown and Bricktown. We've been to Remington Park of course, and the National Memorial Museum is just an amazing place put together on such a tragic incident for this city and this country. There's a lot of things to do here in this community. We had some friends that came in from Idaho not too long ago and were able to take them to a lot of the different tourist places around town and they had an absolute blast. 

Good, that’s great to hear! What is your vision for the Oklahoma State Fair as you begin your role as president and CEO? What do you hope to accomplish in the short term? Long term? 

It was great to be able to come in under Tim and learn from him. And what's so important about a job like this is understanding why things were put into place the way they are. Tim's a teacher with me on that. If you look at our organization, there are two business units: the Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. is the parent organization that produces this great state fair for 11 days, but then the rest of the year we have a contract and work at the pleasure of the city managing the fairgrounds to drive tourism spending into the community. What we're looking to do now is continue to produce one of the best fairs in the United States. We have a great staff who have done it in the past. I was amazed when I got here. The fair this last September was amazing. And the fact that there had not been a fair the year before because of COVID and the staff was able to put this thing together, it was a really neat experience.  

We want to continue driving tourism spending into Oklahoma City with these major equestrian and livestock shows. And because of the Bennett Event Center, we can host volleyball tournaments and other big events. But again, what we're trying to do is make sure we have the best business that's available, so we can pack our calendar and get people here to spend money in our city. That's really what it's about. We are also going to continue to actively pursue new business opportunities for this great city of Oklahoma City.  

"We want to always exceed expectations at every opportunity for our clients."

I was recently at another horse show down south of here promoting our new Coliseum that will be built in the near future. This upcoming weekend I'll be at another big major horse show doing the same thing. I'm very active in selling and marketing the city. I will be out on the road in places like Tulsa, Fort Worth and Ohio, wherever that a piece of business is to try to make sure we're putting the best business in this city, supporting the business that's already here and trying to fill any gaps we have in our calendar.  

Some of the short-term issues we're facing are that we have some long-term employees here at the fair that are planning on retiring. A part of this is making sure we have the right fit for the organization when somebody retires who has some horse show experience. The reality is there's not a lot of us out there that have dealt with the big major shows. So, to be able to attract the right talent that already has those contacts, that already understands customer service, has a hospitality background and knows how to operate a big venue, we’ll certainly be working on trying to have new folks step in as these folks who have been here for many years begin retiring. We want to hire incredibly friendly employees.  

We also want to make sure that we deliver spotlessly clean and well-maintained facilities for our clients. Some are simple things like making sure that we're keeping restrooms clean, that we're painting and looking at areas that we might need to redevelop. If we have restrooms in the facilities that are old and worn out, we will look to find capital dollars to redo those. I think that's really important. We want to always exceed expectations at every opportunity for our clients. We want them to say, “Hey, we have to be in Oklahoma City.” And oh, by the way, you have your show located in Ohio, you need to take it to Oklahoma City because they're here to take care of you.  

"It is a really wonderful treasure that we have in Oklahoma. There is so much to do, such a great culture, and we're just so appreciative to be here with you."

Long term, opening the new OKC Fairgrounds Coliseum is going to be huge for us. The Norick is a great arena. It's had a great lifespan, a lot of history and tradition but it's time. It’s time to open this new Coliseum and make sure we do it right. So that again, we stay ahead of the competition and when these shows ask, “Should I go to Tulsa? Should I go to Fort Worth? Should I go to Oklahoma City?” We want them to take a look at this new Coliseum and say, “oh, we have to be there.” 

The other aspect is constantly master planning for the future of the fairgrounds. What do we do next to create a destination that people want to come to? One of my more recent projects I worked on with my company was master planning for the Dallas Convention Center. I also worked on master planning an equestrian center in Sherman, Texas. How do we take a look at this campus and master plan, then look for funding in the future to make sure we're creating a great customer experience, a reason for them to be here. 

That's great. I know you said at the beginning you're hoping that you can fill Tim's shoes, but it sounds like you have a great vision and a great path you're headed down. 

We're going to continue the great work here. And if you think about the Oklahoma State Fair and the City of Oklahoma City, there's been great leadership here. Great leadership that has a can-do spirit and they know how to make things happen. I'm looking forward to future MAPS 5 opportunities. That's how far out I'll start looking. What do we need to do next? There's been such good leadership in this community. That's why we have a fairgrounds. That's why we have these great tourist attractions. That's why there’s this great new convention center downtown. I mean, really neat things happen. All these MAPS projects throughout the years have been amazing. They have transformed Oklahoma City for the citizens and for the tourism industry. So it's a really neat community. 

"What I have learned through the years, through some ups and downs, I would tell myself to always do the right thing. Even when it may not be popular, always do the right thing."

What excites you about the future of not only the, the fair and the fairgrounds, but Oklahoma City? 

The thing that excites me is that this city is heading to the top right now. The mayor announced that we're the 20th largest city in the nation. That's exciting. There are great restaurants, great attractions, great neighborhoods, and all the things that go along with that. It excites me for the Oklahoma State Fair to be able to continue to attract folks and families here from all walks of life. We're kind of at a crossroads in our world where we're trying to make sure we provide entertainment for families. I have a friend who lives about an hour south of here, and he has a son that likes to show cattle and horses. He has another son that is a gamer. How do we provide family entertainment in the years to come so folks can come here and just have a lot of fun? So many people these days live on their telephones and on their technology. How do we tap into that and keep the core family together so they can come out here and have a whole lot of fun of the fair. It’s tradition. This fair is legendary and we have to continue to promote it as such and make sure we're doing the best that we can. 

Looking back on your career thus far, is there any advice that you would give yourself as a young professional? 

What I have learned through the years, through some ups and downs, I would tell myself to always do the right thing. Even when it may not be popular, always do the right thing. Keep your head up, keep going. Never quit. 

The other thing is I will never ask anyone to do something that I'm not willing to do. So, if the barn is dirty, if the restrooms are dirty, I will help clean. I will never ask someone to do something that I'm not willing to do. 

That's incredible leadership. Is there anything else you'd like to share? 

I just would like to say to the fine folks of Oklahoma City and across Oklahoma, thank you for welcoming my family and I here to this city, to this state. It is a really wonderful treasure that we have in Oklahoma. There is so much to do, such a great culture, and we're just so appreciative to be here with you.