Business View Magazine | July 2022

144 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 small events, and a bi-weekly farmers’ market during the summer months. A new website is currently under construction to market the many possibilities for the fairgrounds. “We like to say that you can do anything. We’ve had weddings in our Coliseum, which has a dirt floor, and is famous for livestock shows. If you have the vision, we really try to create it,” Mergen explains, noting that word of mouth is another huge part of marketing, especially in the livestock and camping worlds. The Missouri State Fair Foundation coordinates 400 to 450 volunteers each year to do everything from selling water to running shuttles. Community organizations like Missouri 4-H and Missouri FFA are another valuable resource during the State Fair. “We rely heavily on their volunteers and their officers to help us throughout the fair,” says Mergen. “It is a great relationship with both of those organizations. They stand there in their official dress in the