Two well-known Santa Maria leaders are retiring from their positions this year.
“Bob [Hatch] and I always joked that we’d retire at the same time. We’re both getting old and cranky,” former Santa Maria Fairpark CEO Dennis Pearson told the Sun on March 13, the first day of his retirement.
Pearson, a 16-year veteran of the Fairpark, said both he and Hatch—president and CEO of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce for 20 years—“made good organization[s] profitable and respectable in the community and in their industries.”
Prior to the Fairpark, Pearson worked in the banking world for 33 years. He said he applied for a job with the Santa Barbara County Fair because “I liked putting on events, and I thought it was a part-time job.”
The new CEO soon learned that the Santa Maria fairgrounds were actually in “serious financial trouble,” he said, “and needed someone with a business mind to come in and turn it around.”
Often working 12- to 14-hour days, six or seven days a week, Pearson, along with his dedicated staff, “built the fairgrounds up to now what we call a very profitable organization,” he said.
Under Pearson, the Fairpark remodeled fairgrounds buildings and constructed a new administration building; turned its lackluster satellite waging area into a rental facility; and brought in several new events, such as the Taste of Home Show.
Future plans include construction of a larger livestock barn and expansion of the Minetti Arena.
Pearson, 74, told the Sun he felt now was the right time to retire because the Fairpark’s reserves are strong and the planned projects are in good hands.
He said he will spend his retirement serving God as a deacon for St. Mary of the Assumption Church. When the Sun called him for a mid-morning interview, he had already been up for three hours working on a profit-loss analysis for the church’s upcoming fiesta.
“When you retire, everyone thinks you sleep until noon and go to the movies all day,” Pearson said, adding that he plans to keep himself busy. “But maybe Bob and I will go to the movies together at the senior citizen price.”
Hatch isn’t scheduled to retire until June, but he seemed open to the idea when the Sun talked to him on March 14. He also said he’s looking forward to spending time with his family, including a new grandchild in San Diego, and not worrying about what he has planned for the day.
“I want to get up that morning and decide what I’m going to do on that day,” he said.
Prior to leading the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce, Hatch ran the Lompoc chamber.
He said he enjoyed the dynamic of working in a larger city with a bigger chamber membership and the potential for more resources.
However, those first five years in Santa Maria weren’t exactly smooth sailing.
“The chamber was not in great shape,” Hatch said. “We were drinking out of the fire hose the first couple of years.”
He and his fellow chamber employees worked hard—often putting in hours similar to Pearson at the Fairpark—to bring up the chamber’s membership numbers and to restore its contract with the city of Santa Maria.
“There were so many things to work on; it was daunting yet challenging,” Hatch said.
When asked what he considers his greatest accomplishment, the decorated U.S. Army veteran said: “It’s hard to pinpoint just one. No military leaders hang their hats on just one battle they won.”
Ultimately, he said he most valued the relationships and friendships he made, and “restoring confidence” in the chamber.
There was a little tension in the community over the decision to disband the city’s Economic Development Association in 2008, but Hatch said the decision made sense.
“The city decided it wanted to take a look at the EDA and merge it [with the chamber],” he said. “We weren’t trying to seize power. … In the city’s words, they weren’t getting their money’s worth.”
Hatch went on to create the position of economic development director, a position now held by Dave Cross, to foster more economic development in the county.
“You don’t just wake up and look under your pillow, like the economic development fairy left it there,” he said. “It takes work every day.”
He said he owes much of his success to the chamber’s wonderful staff: “They all know what they’re responsible for and what their jobs are, but they can always come to me for leadership and advice.”
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 20-27, 2014.