Q&A with State Fair’s Tim O’Toole: His career, retirement and what’s next

Tim O’Toole has served as president and CEO of Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. for 18 years and has been a part of OKC’s growth for over two decades. As he retires from the Oklahoma State Fair, we sat down with him on June 1, 2022 to ask him about his career, what he’s learned and what he’s looking forward to in retirement. 

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VeloCityOKC: Is today day one of retirement? How are you feeling? 

Tim O’Toole: Today is my first official day retired as president and CEO. Yeah, I'm enjoying it; I'm doing good. I'm taking a couple of weeks off, and then I'm doing some consulting work on the Coliseum, the MAPS 4 project. 

It’s no surprise you would continue to be involved even in retirement but it’s great that you’re getting some time to slow down. Looking back, what led you to first accept the position of president and CEO at the Oklahoma State Fair, and what have you enjoyed most about your time? 

I think that the first part about it was, I had knowledge of the impact of the Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. on the whole state of Oklahoma and the fairgrounds’ impact on Oklahoma City. So, when the position became open, I was in a transition period myself, working for a new set of owners at the RedHawks at that time. And I was familiar with Clay Bennett, who was the chairman of the Oklahoma State Fair Inc. at the time as well as some of the other board members: JW Mashburn, John Michael Williams, and of course, Ron Norick. So, I knew the leadership there and I knew there were some challenges ahead. I knew some of the things that needed to be done and I thought it might be a good opportunity to continue to contribute to what was going on in Oklahoma. 

What did you enjoy most about your time as president and CEO? 

Well, for me it's about the relationships and the people that I had the opportunity to work with. My staff, the board of directors, the customers that have had such long-term relationships with Oklahoma City, you get to know their staffs and their function. You get to build on those relationships and try to meet whatever challenges are ahead of you from a personal standpoint. Also, the ability to work with the hotel association and the Chamber and the City of Oklahoma City. Then to have the citizens approve the hotel tax that they did in December of 2004 and be able to use a portion of the tax for dedicated capital improvements at the fairgrounds, has been a very gratifying experience. 

"I've been able to interact with wonderful people and learned that you need them all to be able to accomplish things."

The fairgrounds have changed drastically since you first joined in 2004, correct? 

Yes, we've done over 25 individual projects and approximately $115 million in capital improvements have been made as a result of the hotel tax funds available and the bonds that were backed by the funds. And of course, we were able to complete the huge expo building, the Bennett Event Center, under MAPS 3. Today, there are over $175 million worth of capital improvements that have been made to the property. And, we have – with MAPS 4 -- the new coliseum on the horizon. 

During your time, is there any single accomplishment, or it might be a few, that sticks out in your mind? 

Being a part of that coalition that was able to work with the hotel industry on the Hotel Occupancy Tax, and to agree on an acceptable amount that the city and the hoteliers were comfortable with, and that we thought the citizens would support, that to me was a significant accomplishment. The goal of that was to transform the fairgrounds into a 21st century tourism destination, and I think we've accomplished that. For example, the direct spending impact of the equine events in 2021 was more than $170 million.

"You get to build on those relationships and try to meet whatever challenges are ahead of you from a personal standpoint."

To what would you attribute the foresight to begin transforming the fairgrounds?  

It was a combination of a lot of things, the most significant of which was frankly the input from our longstanding customers. We had relationships with trade shows, horse shows with the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Morgan Horse Association, the National Reining Horse Association, and all their members told not only us, but the hotel people as well, that they had come to know, and that they love coming to Oklahoma City. They said, “You’ve got a great central location, there’s a lot of space and it works well for our business, but your barn facilities are tired.” They needed some improvements. So, I think from that whole insight with our clients telling us they want to stay here, we got together and figured out a way to start accomplishing those things that benefited everybody, both our clients and the city itself. 

Absolutely, people get feedback all the time but it's key that you all acted on it. What is one of your fondest memories of your time there? 

I loved the reaction when we opened the super barn! It was a 1,000-stall facility with a warmup ring inside of it that connected to the Norick Arena. To see the reaction from our customers and the public compared to what that building was like before, the size of it and how well it functioned, was gratifying. And I love at the state fair to be able to just walk around and see people smiling and having a good time and doing all the many activities that occur during the fair. 

Looking at the future of not only the Oklahoma State Fair organization but also Oklahoma City, what excites you most about what's coming up? 

Well, I – like many people having been here and who’ve been involved with various projects in the beginning – I’m once again excited about what MAPS 4 will bring to both obviously the fairgrounds and the immediate future as we move towards the groundbreaking on the Coliseum later this fall, but also the whole breadth of projects that MAPS 4 will bring on board in the next seven to 10 years. It'll just be exciting to see how that impacts our city and helps it evolve and grow.

"You just have to be yourself and don't be overly concerned with what you think you might be accomplishing in your career as much as the relationships that you're hopefully building every step of the way, because people remember more about the person that you are than what you did." 

Are there any other causes or organizations that you're looking forward to getting more involved in now that you have a little extra time? 

I'm involved with organizations relating to alcohol and drug recovery, and I plan to stay involved in those. And I'm also just very much engaged with a couple of the senior citizens organizations here in town and I'm looking forward to continuing that time with them too. 

Looking back on your career, sometimes we receive pieces of advice later in life that we wish we would've had sooner, or little nuggets of advice that we pick up along the way. Is there anything that you would that you wish you would've known earlier in your career or any advice that has really stuck with you that you would pass on to young professionals? 

Well, I've thought about that. That's an interesting question! I think one thing is there's a balance between knowing yourself and believing in yourself, and the ability to be able to learn how to take advice from others, whether it's your contemporaries or people that have more experience in the workplace than you do, and how to balance that advice and experience with your own aspirations and creativity. I can look back on a lot of situations that people were trying to tell me things about life in general, finances, or just relationships with people, and I wasn't always as willing to listen as I think I am today. One of my favorite sayings is: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The willingness to be willing is a real gift. And it's a paradox. It's hard to comprehend sometimes in our youth. 

Are there any other pieces of advice that you would give to young professionals? 

You just have to be yourself and don't be overly concerned with what you think you might be accomplishing in your career as much as the relationships that you're hopefully building every step of the way, because people remember more about the person that you are than what you did. 

Is there anything you're especially looking forward to now you are retired? 

It's nice to wake up when you want to! You can choose to set the alarm or not to set it. I think that for me, I'm looking forward to everything. I just look forward to every day, see what that each new day brings. Just take it one day at a time. And obviously it's good to be able to have time to spend with family and friends. 

I feel very fortunate, very blessed in my career. I've had a lot of very entertaining jobs, very interesting ones. I've been able to interact with wonderful people and learned that you need them all to be able to accomplish things. It's been very, very gratifying to me and I've been very, very fortunate.