Gov. Bruce Rauner has appointed three new members to the Illinois State Fair advisory board, and reappointed 12 others, in an effort to expand the base of knowledge on the board.

Among those added is Matt Jungmann, national events manager for Farm Progress and longtime Farm Progress Show director.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with this board to keep the Illinois State Fair on top,” Jungmann says. “There are plenty of challenges, and that’s what has me most intrigued … the challenge of what’s next.”

Gary Hadden and Cory Jobe also join the board. Jobe is director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, responsible for leading marketing and development for the state’s tourism industry. Hadden farms and raises cattle near Jacksonville, and also serves as chairman of the Morgan County Fair Entertainment Committee.

“We’ve got some terrific advisory board members,” says Grant Hammer, chief of staff at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, adding that it’s been a “fairly homogenous” group in the past, made up primarily of livestock industry professionals.

“The additions of the state tourism director and the operations chief for the Farm Progress Show are great pickups for the advisory board,” Hammer says. “They bring some really spectacular insight to the advisory board that previously wasn’t there.”

Hammer says Jungmann will provide a lot of operational knowledge, based on his experiences running the nation’s largest outdoor farm show. He says Jobe has professional insight in tourism and marketing that “can only serve to strengthen the state fair.”

Background
Jungmann began his career with the Farm Progress Show as a manager in 1995, traveling with the show through its annual moves among Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. He was named national events manager in 2004, and oversees all aspects of the Farm Progress Show, as well as Husker Harvest Days, the New York Farm Show and Hay & Forage Expo. Jungmann’s family also actively participates in the junior beef shows at the Illinois State Fair.

“I think these two additional board members will round out an already terrific board,” Hammer says.

Board members are unpaid volunteers and are appointed to a two-year term by the governor. They meet once or twice per year, advising the Illinois Department of Agriculture and its director, Raymond Poe, on matters concerning the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair. They also look at fairgrounds operations, events, visitors and more.

The Illinois State Fair is being managed on an interim basis by Luke Sailer following Kevin Gordon’s retirement in December. Sailer previously served as assistant manager.

Twelve other members of the advisory board were reappointed:
• Michael Ammann, pork producer, Madison County
• George Obernagel, banker and livestock producer, Monroe County
• Allen Entwistle, farmer, Sangamon County 
• William Range, owner of Range Showpigs, Monroe County
• William Fugate, former treasurer-secretary of Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs, Livingston County
• Sue Schafer, agriculture teacher, Christian County
• Tamara Craig Schilling, vice president of Monsanto Technology Communications, Washington County
• John Slayton, banker and chairman of Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation, Sangamon County
• Brad Temple, livestock producer, LaSalle County
• Mike Martz, livestock producer, DeKalb County
• Paul Walker, former animal science professor at Illinois State University, McLean County
• Gary McConnell, Land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Breeders Association, Christian County