New board of directors appointed at Lethbridge and District Exhibition

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -

There is a new group leading the way for the Lethbridge and District Exhibition after the Alberta Government approved the signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month.

“The subsequent step after that was the resignation of the board and the appointment of the new governance body or the new board,” said Lloyd Brierley, Lethbridge city manager and co-chair of the board of directors.

Brierley and Lethbridge County CAO Cole Beck will lead the board of directors as co-chairs, along with City of Lethbridge director of community service Carly Kleisinger and Lethbridge County director of corporate services Jennifer Place.

ENMAX Centre general manager Kim Gallucci has been named as the interim CEO.

“There’s a great opportunity for the community,” Brierley said. “There's definitely work to be done to get things to a better place and I have full confidence in Kim’s abilities. He's very pragmatic and fiscally responsible.”

The changes come after The Exhibition asked the city and province for nearly $7 million in additional funding because of rising interest rates, inflation and supply chain issues from the construction of the $76 million Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre.

In January, city council learned there's a potential $30,000-a-day cost to operate the facility and that it wasn't designed to accommodate livestock.

The board will now focus on building a viable business model.

“For us, business continuity was the transition to the interim governance board without a disruption to service to any of the events that were scheduled here,” Beck said.

Instead of a projected $2.3 million surplus, administration has determined the LDE is looking at a $6.5 million operating deficit this year, a difference of $8.8 million.

An independent third-party review will also be complete by November to understand how The Exhibition got to where it is.

“We'll have a better understand of what the Lethbridge and District Exhibition opportunities are and how that represents our community and the region,” Beck added.

The Exhibition has $3.5 million in cash and reserves, the city will provide $3.8 million in 2024, with no added costs being put on residents.

“With the understanding that’s been gained along the way to say, OK, what are some of the things we have seen that’s a concern and what do we need to work to address them with being very mindful of the financial pressures?” Brierley said.

“We’re really working to alleviate that pressure to position it better for the taxpayers in the future.”

Although a new board is now in place, events this year, including Ag-Expo, the Home, Leisure and Garden Show and Whoop-Up Days will continue to go ahead.

“Lethbridge County, we consider ourselves the agricultural centre of the province – I mean, we do nearly $4 billion in agricultural economic activity in the region, so having an event centre and being able to showcase what we are, what the region represents, and all of those different activities is a real opportunity,” Beck said.

The Exhibition is currently in the shareholder redemption process, which is expected to be completed by the end of February.