State Fair Leadership

Sen. Ed Berger is the current interim general manager of the Kansas State Fair.

Berger is a life-long Kansan and grew up on a small family farm in Harvey County. He attended Hutchinson Community College and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wichita State University and a doctorate in education from Kansas State University.

He was a member of the charter faculty at Seward County Community College in 1969 and served as Dean of Continuing Education at both Seward County and Hutchinson Community Colleges before becoming president at HCC, a position he held for 23 years.

Berger was elected to the Kansas Senate in 2016 to represent District 34, which includes Reno and Kingman counties.

Berger and his wife Carol live in Hutchinson and have two adult sons.

Connie Schmitt is the Fair's Industry Relations and Development Director. She is responsible for increasing the Fair’s corporate sponsorship revenue and supervising the sales team. Schmitt also works directly with the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation to grow capital funds to meet the Fair's long-term goals.

Schmitt has been with the Fair since May 2007. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Fort Hays State University.

Jenn Galloway is the Competitive Exhibits Director. She joined the Kansas State Fair 2014 and was most recently the Fair’s Livestock Coordinator. Galloway oversees all Kansas State Fair competitions, including livestock and creative and traditional competitions.

Amy Bickel, who has covered the Kansas State Fair for many years as a journalist for The Hutchinson News and, most recently, the High Plains Journal, is the Fair’s Director of Marketing. She oversees all marketing efforts, entertainment and ticketing, plus serves as the Fair's public information officer.

Bickel has a dual degree in Agriculture Communications and Animal Sciences from Kansas State University. She and her husband, John, have three daughters — Brett, Kaci and Jordie.

LaMonna Galyon serves as the General Manager's Administrative Assistant. She is also the Kansas State Fair Liaison to the Fair Board and the Entertainment Coordinator.

She and husband, Chris, have raised four children — Nicolle, Taylor, Riley and Cooper — in Sterling, Kansas where they reside.

Marla Parsons joined the Fair team Sept. 1, 2018 as Sponsorship and Special Events Coordinator. She spent 27 years with Kwik Shop in numerous marketing and special assignment roles.

Parsons lives in Hutchinson. She and her husband, Troy, have two grown children.

Jacki Eckert is responsible for the development and implementation of education programs for both children and adults. This includes managing the Fair's new Education Center and organizing field trips.

Education programs take place year-round on the Fairgrounds. Part of the Fair's education curriculum is on the importance of pollinators. Eckert has worked to create pollinator gardens across the Fairgrounds and recently helped the Fair become an official Monarch Watch Waystation.

Eckert attended Hutchinson Community College and the University of Kansas. She and her husband, Bret, have one son, Clay.