State Fair CEO Jerry Hammer retiring after 26 years running Great Minnesota Get-Together

After 26 years running the Minnesota State Fair, steering it through and out of the pandemic shutdown, General Manager Jerry Hammer said Monday he is retiring once a successor is hired.

"To be involved with the fair in this role for this long, what a gift," Hammer, 68, said in an interview. "Having said that, it's still time."

Hammer grew up in St. Paul's Como Park neighborhood near the fairgrounds and started as a temporary employee in the fair greenhouses decades ago. He still lives nearby and said he expects to continue to be part of the fair, but someone else will run the annual 12-day end-of-summer get-together. After a successor is named, Hammer said he plans to stay on as CEO for a two-month transition.

He said he's healthy and still loves the job, but thinks he would have already retired if not for the pandemic. "How do you jump ship when you're in a crisis?" he asked. "You don't. All I knew was I needed to stay until things were back on solid ground."

Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement that the fair is a "one-of-a-kind celebration" because of Hammer. "For nearly a third of the fair's history, Jerry has brought Minnesotans together over butter carvings, a celebration of our agricultural heritage, and food on a stick," Walz said. "I congratulate him on an extremely well-earned retirement."

The fair ended the most recent fiscal year Oct. 31 in the best cash position ever with $13.2 million, he said. That compares to the $5.9 million on hand at the end of the previous fiscal year. The fair was back with strong attendance last summer after it was diminished in 2021 with COVID-19 variants lingering. The coronavirus shuttered the fair in 2020.

While not finalized, operating revenue also appears to have bounced back to near-normal levels with the expectation it will be about $60 million this year, Hammer said. The fair had operating revenue of $62 million in 2019; last year, it was down to $45 million, Hammer said.

Looking back, Hammer cites two accomplishments that he believes will help keep the fair healthy for generations: the establishment of a separate Minnesota State Fair Foundation 20 years ago and gaining separate bonding authority to maintain the 322-acre fairgrounds in Falcon Heights.

"Between those two, that's allowed us to do so much to the fairgrounds," he said.

During the pandemic, the fair was able to stretch out bond repayments so it didn't have to lay off a single member of its 80-person staff. Before the pandemic refinance, debt service was about $3 million a year and on track to be paid off by 2027. The annual payments are now $2 million and will be paid off in 2032, according to Hammer.

He said staff are critical to the fair's success. "They're such rock stars," Hammer said. "Their expertise is extraordinary."

Despite its name, the State Fair is run not by the state but by the Minnesota State Agricultural Society. It receives no state subsidies and is self-sustaining.

In the past two decades, the State Fair used its borrowing power for big projects: renovation of the grandstand (which Hammer calls "the cathedral") in 2003; upgrades to the International Bazaar and livestock facility in 2004; overhaul of the West End and construction of the Transit Hub in 2014; and building of the North End Event Center in 2019.

Hammer said he has a couple of regrets: He wishes he'd kept a diary over the years and that they had planted real trees instead of ornamental ones in front of the grandstand.

He said real trees would have been gorgeous canopies by now but the ornamental ones grew into nothing more than giant bushes. "Just no," he said. "Do real trees. We need shade. That one was a fumble."

Hammer has worked on a year-to-year contract that most recently paid him $350,000. He said the Agricultural Society will choose his successor.

Tim Weiss, owner of Giggles' Campfire Grill at the fair, has long praised Hammer's vision and management style. He predicted last summer that Hammer would retire if the fair was in good financial shape.

"He did a great job," Weiss said. "The legacy is formed."

Mary Chung, executive director of the Fair Foundation, said Hammer did the work with joy.

"With Jerry, it's so much more than a job," said Chung. "It's what he wants for his family and his neighbors and his fellow Minnesotans."

She credits Hammer's vision for seeing that the nearly two dozen historic buildings and extensive grounds and roadway needed constant attention, maintenance and upgrades. Since its inception, the foundation has funded $17 million worth of projects and programming, including $1 million in the past year, Chung said.

"The sense of permanence you have at this fair is far different than others," she said.

Chung, however, doesn't envision Hammer will be far from the fair. "I can't see him not coming to the fair every day," she said with a laugh.

Growing up in Como, Hammer started as a summer worker in the greenhouse before running the fair's marketing. He said he expects to stay involved in some role and has a strong affinity for Veterans Day because his father, Bob Hammer, was a World War II veteran who landed in Normandy on D-Day. Hammer's mother, Lu, still lives next door to the fair.

Now, Hammer said he and his wife, Debbie, will be able to enjoy more time with their five grandkids, all of whom live within 15 minutes of their home.

"It's time to turn the page and hand the keys over to our amazing staff," he said of his decision. "It's a very difficult thing, but it's also the right thing."