Former Kroger executive to lead Kansas State Fair during transition
The Kansas State Fair Board is pleased to announce Bob Moeder has agreed to assume the leadership position at the Fair following the departure of general manager Susan Sankey, who resigned after accepting a position with the Kansas 4-H Foundation.
Moeder will provide management services until the appointment of a new general manager is made following a search by the Fair Board.
“I would like to thank Bob for taking on this opportunity and for his professional dedication and commitment to the Kansas State Fair,” commented Fair Board President Virginia Crossland-Macha. “We are excited that Bob has agreed to serve in this capacity in this transition period as we find a permanent executive staff leader. The Kansas State Fair is committed more than ever to building upon our recent successes and to fulfill our mission for the people of Kansas.”
Moeder retired in 2013 after a career that spanned 42 years with Dillon Companies, Inc. and The Kroger Co. His people-oriented style of leadership has served him well. After two internal promotions, he became executive vice president of Kwik Shop in 1991. As a part of the 1999 Kroger restructuring, Moeder was named corporate vice president of Convenience Stores, Supermarket Petroleum and Turkey Hill Dairy. In 2006, he was named president of the Kroger Central Division, which he ran until he retired. The division included 138 food stores, 115 pharmacies and 72 fuel centers in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan and Ohio. He and his wife, Marsha, returned from Indiana to Hutchinson in 2015, where they are both active in the community.
Moeder has served as president of the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation since 2016. In a letter to the State Fair Board, Moeder considers the future of the Fair critical and the contributions by Sankey as tremendous.
“I am aware that additional changes need to take place in order to further enhance and protect the future of the Fair for generations of Kansans.”
Moeder will take a leave from the Fairgrounds Foundation Board, while current Vice President West McArthur, Salina, Kansas, will assume the duties of the Foundation president during the transition.
“With interim leadership in place, our next step as the Fair Board is to move quickly to plan and implement the search for a permanent General Manager,” said Crossland-Macha.
A recent report by the Kansas Department of Agriculture indicates an estimated economic impact of the ten days of the Kansas State Fair on the Kansas economy to be $108 million. The 2017 KSF experienced a successful transition to digital ticketing made possible through the installation of fiber on the Fairgrounds. The Fair also generated record revenues and experienced the highest number of entries in its youth livestock competitions.
