PREVIOUSLY

###

Press release from the Humboldt County Fair Board:

A lawsuit brought by Stuart and Caroline Titus against the Humboldt County Fair Association was recently settled out of court without having to go to a jury trial. 

On January 5, 2016 the Federal Court in San Francisco held a Confidential Mandatory Settlement Conference relating to the case of Stuart and Caroline Titus v. the Humboldt County Fair Association and their directors.

Barbara Tyler, the Claims Manager from California Fair Services Authority, the HCFA’s insurance provider, resolved the case with asettlement to Stuart and Caroline Titus and their attorneys in the amount of $150,000. The settlement was made as a compromise and was not an omission admission of liability. Settlement funds will be paid by the California Fair Services Authority.

General Manager, Richard Conway said,”Frankly, we are just glad this time-consuming case has been settled and we can now focus on improvements at the Fairgrounds, preparing for our 2016fair and dealing with the many events that we have going on at the fairgrounds.” David Mogni, Chairman of the Board of Directors echoed Conway’s remarks saying, “The lawsuit has been very disruptive and it is good to have it settled. I believe I can speak for the entire board when I say that we are just happy to put all of our focus back on the fairgrounds.”

Mogni added, “We have a lot of good things happening.  We recently received a grant for nearly $500,000 from the CaliforniaState Fair Association to make needed improvements. The majority of money will go to replacing the aging/failing water system at the fairgrounds. Some of it will be used to replace the asbestos floor at Belotti Hall.  (We are hoping the grant will cover both but we may be asking our community partners to pitch in to help with the Belotti project.) We received another grant for $12,500 from the Berg Foundation tomake much needed repairs to the Poultry Building at the Fairgrounds. As one of the oldest, if not the oldest building on the fairgrounds, we are happy to have it once more be usable for FFA, 4-H and other groups.

“And…” Mogni said, “That’s not all. In other big news, General Manager, Richard Conway was recently appointed to the board of directors for the California Authority of Racing Fairs.  This is wonderful news and will open the door to many relationships we feel will be helpful to our future racing schedule. Richard’s background is entrenched in the racing industry. He has 20 years of experience training racehorses throughout California and abroad. Specifically, he has trained for the internationally prominent Godolphin Racing Stable owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates.  While working for Godolphin, Richard managed stables in UAE, France, England and Ireland.  In addition, he has considerable training experience in both the Northern and Southern California circuits. The entire board is thrilled with this appointment.”

The Humboldt County Fair will be holding it’s 120th fair August 18-28, 2016.  More information is available on their web site,humboldtcountyfair.org or by calling the fair office at 707-786-9511.