_{Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

A month after the Los Angeles Times listed the Del Norte County Fairgrounds as one of 26 fairs in California struggling with misfortune CEO Kim Floyd offered minimal information on how things would change in the future.

In her Dec. 11 rundown, the Times reporter Jessica Garrison cited a state audit from 2019 that found that Del Norte County fair officials improperly spent more than $1,200 on alcohol in violation of state rules and allowed a manager to employ a close family member. 

Garrison also cited a state audit from 2025 that found additional violations of the state’s nepotism policy as well as $34,637 in credit card charges without receipts. The audit cited $11,903 in credit card charges for food and drink without receipts.

In response to an email from Redwood Voice Community News, Floyd said that the 41st District Agricultural Association, the state-appointed agency that operates the Del Norte County Fair, has adopted a nepotism policy, trained staff on credit card use, and updated the agency’s filing and accounting procedures. 

“When a family member is considered for hire, the hiring requires prior approval from the Fair Board,” Floyd told Redwood Voice on Tuesday, adding that a Nepotism Exemption Request Form, or SO-31, will be included in the packet given to new hires. “Once approved, the completed SO-31 form is submitted to (California) HR for filing.”

The 41st DAA’s most recent performance audit, conducted at the request of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fair and Expositions Branch, raised more concerns than those the Times published. The audit covered the period from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023 and identified “15 areas containing reportable conditions” and provided 44 “recommendations to improve.”

The 41st DAA Board of Directors responded to the CDFA Audit Office on June 17, 2025. In its response, the Board details a list of corrective measures they’ve taken in response to the audit. This includes having the board president sign all credit card statements to review credit card transactions, according to its response.

Board President Kara Miller did not respond to requests for comment as of Thursday.

In addition to being governed by the 41st DAA, the Del Norte County Fairgrounds is supported by a county-elected Recreation and Parks District Fair Board. According to Floyd, the 41st DAA receives allocations from this board for operations and maintenance.

One of the audit’s findings, a lack of compliance with the CDFA’s nepotism policy, stems from 41st DAA’s hiring of two employees related to the fairgrounds manager to work part-time during the fair. This took place from 2021 to 2023 and involved the manager’s daughter and her nephew, according to the audit.

According to the audit, CDFA policy prohibits nepotism and seeks to avoid “work situations in which there are personal relationships.” The 41st DAA CEO is responsible for contacting CDFA for a consultation and resolution concerning personal relationships or to request a Nepotism Exemption Request Form, according to the audit.

For a three year period, the manager’s daughter worked alongside the manager in the fairgrounds office and until she left her job in December 2023. A member of the 41st DAA Board of Directors, a state-appointed body, signed the employee’s time cards, but the fair manager provided the employee’s daily activities, duties and direction. During the time she worked for the fairgrounds, the manager’s daughter was paid a total of $31,493.

The manager’s nephew worked during the fair in 2021 and 2022 and earned a total of $4,024. The fair manager signed his timecards and paychecks, according to the audit.

The 41st DAA also paid $944 to the fair manager’s father as reimbursement for items he purchased and vehicle mileage incurred during the fair. According to the audit, the $223 in reimbursements for miscellaneous items was supported by receipts, but a travel expense claim wasn’t prepared for the $721 in mileage reimbursement.

Floyd’s father, Randy Hatfield, had been CEO and manager of the 41st DAA until he retired in 2017.

Other issues the audit raised include a lack of consistency in tracking the purpose of fuel delivered to the fairgrounds or purchased using the 41st DAA’s credit cards. According to the audit, the CDFA’s audit office was unable to determine if $38,382 “of unaccounted fuel purchases” were only for conducting state business. Out of about $42,858 in fuel purchases between 2019 and 2023, there was a lack of detailed invoices for $1,732 in purchases.

The audit also found that in addition to the $11,903 in food and drink purchased with credit cards, the 41st DAA bought $16,046 in food and beverages using operating checks from 2022 through 2023. The association didn’t maintain lists of the individuals who were provided the meals nor prepare documentation listing the “benefit expected to arise” to the fairgrounds for the purchases.

These purchases were for a variety of purposes, including the VIP sponsor tent at the Del Norte County Fair as well as the rodeo lunch.

The 41st DAA reimbursed employees for travel expenses and paid for hotel rooms “in excess of the nightly rate limitations” without completing the Excess Lodging Rate Request/Approval form. Nightly rates ranged from $107 to $207 and from 2019 to 2023, the 41st DAA paid an excess of $3,878 out of $12,107 spent on hotel rooms for 78 nights.

“These rooms were for judges, entertainers, the Western Fair Association Convention (WFA), International Association of Fairs and Expos (IAFE), and the manager conference,” the audit states. “Additionally, the 41st DAA did not provide hotel folios for $47,753 in hotel expenses. Of this amount, $15,560 is mentioned in the credit card missing receipts section.”

According to their report, the CDFA’s audit office wasn’t able to determine if the hotel expenses exceeded the allowable lodging rates.

On June 17, 2025, the 41st DAA responded to the findings regarding fuel purchases and weaknesses over travel expense claims, stating that they had recouped funds from an employee who had received an improper reimbursement of $90 for lodging when they had already charged the district’s credit cards.

The fair board also stated they would complete Excess Lodging Rate Request/Approval forms for future lodging rates that exceed the allowed amount. Travel expense claims will also be reviewed and signed by the fair board president, the 41st DAA stated.

According to another LA Times’ article that ran as a companion piece to the list posted, fairs generate more than $400 million a year in revenue. Del Norte County’s fair is an annual tradition that involves many in the community, including dozens of youth involved in 4H, the Lake Earl Grange or Future Farmers of America who raise animals to show before judges and auction off to buyers.

One issue Garrison’s article focused on was a former bookkeeper who pleaded guilty in 2024 to misappropriating about $430,000 from the Humboldt County Fair Association. 

According to Garrison, the fair manager had hired the bookkeeper, Nina Tafarella, in 2022, following a year of financial chaos for the organization. The fair manager had found Tafarella on Craigslist, Garrison reported, and did not check references before hiring her.