{"id":133675,"date":"2026-01-14T20:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/133675\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T20:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:46:08","slug":"kern-county-fair-event-center-ceo-michael-olcott-to-retire-in-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/133675\/","title":{"rendered":"Kern County Fair & Event Center CEO Michael Olcott to retire in July 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 The Kern County Fair & Event Center announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael Olcott will retire from his role effective July 2026.<\/p>\n

Officials said it comes after more than 14 years of leadership, after becoming CEO in January 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u2019s leadership has strengthened the Kern County Fair & Event Center in ways that will last well beyond his tenure,\u201d said Jared Britschgi, Chairman of the 15th DAA Board of Directors. \u201cFrom navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to advance the Fair\u2019s year-round impact in our community, he has led with integrity, professionalism, and a clear commitment to our mission. We are grateful for his service and the difference he has made for Kern County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since stepping into the CEO role, Olcott has overseen operations of the Kern County Fair & Event Center, including the annual Kern County Fair and year-round facility programming.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Kern County Fair & Event Center announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael Olcott will retire from his role effective July 2026. PHOTO: Kern County Fair<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an honor to serve Kern County in this role,\u201d Olcott said. “I\u2019m proud of what our team has accomplished together and grateful to the Board, staff, partners, and the community for their support over the years. The Kern County Fair & Event Center plays an important role in bringing people together, and I\u2019m confident in the organization\u2019s continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Kern County Fair & Event Center announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael Olcott will retire from his role effective July 2026. PHOTO: Kern County Fair<\/p>\n

The 15th DAA Board of Directors will begin a transition.<\/p>\n

According to a release, with the help of the State, a search for Olcott\u2019s successor will begin immediately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 The Kern County Fair & Event Center announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael Olcott…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-133675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","10":"tag-bakersfield-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}