Fair Board Decides to Keep President Harold Workman Indefinitely

The Kentucky Fair Board will retain current President Harold Workman for the indefinite future and has approved hiring a Chief Financial Officer to report directly to the board.Workman has been president and CEO of the fair board since 1993. Rumors circulated this week that he would be ousted at Thursday's meeting. No board vote took place, although the board did retire in executive session for nearly an hour to discuss a personnel matter.Board chair Ron Carmicle said there was no vote taken at that time, but said a variety of opinion's were discussed. Carmicle did acknowledge that there was a difference of opinion between Workman and several board members but said it had nothing to do with Workman's job performance.Carmicle said he expects Workman to stay on until June 30, which is when his contract with the board expires, but he would not say what Workman's future with the board would be."He knows what are goals are and I hope that we can reach an agreement with him on a succession plan," he said.The board would like to develop a long-term business plan and it needs financial advise, which is why the board voted and unanimously approved opening a request for proposal immediately for a new CFO, which it currently does not have.State Sen. Joey Pendleton supports Workman and says he is aware of four board members who were encouraged to replace the president.Pendleton has introduced legislation to give the Senate more say over board appointments. The bill would also include a two-term limit for appointees.