Local company drives heart of Arizona State Fair | Business

When the Arizona State Fair opens on Friday, September 20, a family with Ahwatukee roots will have played a major role in the fair that will delight thousands for 23 days.

The descendants of the late Ray Cammack – including his daughter and COO Charlene Leavitt and his granddaughter and CFO Joy Pickett – have continued to expand the company he founded in 1963, which still bears his name today.

Ray Cammack Shows (RCS) not only owns the contract for the 80 rides, 40 concession stands and 60 arcades that form the heart of the Arizona State Fair, but also similar contracts for five other fairs in Texas, Arizona and California.

He also owns the Ferris wheels at amusement parks in Florida and New Jersey as well as at the renowned Coachella Music Festival.

These observation wheels could also be called Ferris wheels, but they are very different: they are permanent tourist attractions with fully enclosed gondolas that offer air conditioning and multimedia entertainment.

With 450 seasonal workers returning each year and about 100 full-time employees, “we haul equipment on about 330 tractor-trailers each year” from the company’s warehouse in Laveen, says Ben Pickett, Joy’s husband and RCS vice president of operations for the company.

Although there is fierce competition in the fairground industry, RCS's business model “is very different from most others,” says Ben, who has been with the company for 25 years.

“We're focused on doing fewer events, focusing on those events and doing them really, really well,” explained the Australian native. “A lot of other organizers do up to over 100 events a year. We do six, so we have to make those six count.”

RCS makes them worthwhile by staying up to date with new rides being developed somewhere in the world.

“We have relationships with operators all over the world, including my family's operation in Australia,” said Ben. “So we monitor most of these big rides from Europe. And of course, when they introduce new rides, we stay on top of things and see how they are received in Europe.”

If something looks promising, RCS will place an order, but “it could take up to two years for delivery.”

“We took delivery of a new roller coaster and it took over three years to build,” added Ben.

Due to rampant inflation, this equipment and insurance premiums have also become more expensive.

Of course, an integral part of owning and operating all of these rides is ensuring safety – a key focus for Pickett and his team.

The company conducts over 5,000 inspections annually to ensure the safety of the estimated 10 million thrill-seekers who ride its rides each year.

“We do inspections before the event. We have a third party inspect it and then of course all the equipment is checked and approved every day and continuously checked throughout the day,” Ben said.

On its website, the company boasts that its attention to detail is reflected in “our safety records, our guest satisfaction and our ability to generate maximum revenue.”

“Our management team has a combined 875 years of industry experience,” it continues. “They perform the tasks they are well trained to do on the ground. Many have technical experience or a business degree; each of them is a professional. We believe that this one tool is the strongest and most important in our company.”

RCS also wants to keep its employee team happy and offers amenities such as a Midway Lounge, an on-site hair salon and child care, a large cafeteria and various incentive programs.

In return, employees must adhere to some of the strictest standards in the carnival industry: long hair, ponytails, beards and excessive facial hair are not allowed for men. Earrings may only be worn by women.

“Everyone is expected to look well groomed and acceptable to our discerning trade show guests,” says RCS. “We believe our code of conduct contributes to the overall environment we create for our guests. This contributes to success. Satisfied customers stay longer, spend money and tell others about their experience.”

Pickett added: “We get an excellent return on our seasonal work. Up to 90% of our seasonal employees come back every year. We know we offer our employees a good place to work.”

Ben said the company's unique electronic ticketing system allows him to track which rides are most popular.

The most popular attraction is La Grande XL, the giant Ferris wheel at the Arizona State Fair. Another big hit is the Sky Ride, a cable car. Among the roller coasters, the Titan is the king of the league.

“These are some of the most outstanding, but they are all very popular at the Arizona State Fair,” added Pickett.

Among the most popular games at the fair are the water races.

“What seems to drive the popularity of the games is the prizes,” he added. “We spend between 25 and 30 percent of our revenue on prizes, which is quite a lot for the industry. But we firmly believe that it is the prizes scattered around the fairground that win customers over. If you look around our fairground, you see prizes everywhere.”

“We just landed at the Orange County (California) Fair and gave away over 115 53-foot semi-trailers full of prizes.”

RCS was in the midst of preparations for the Arizona State Fair more than a week ago and is ready for a big year, continuing a tradition that, Pickett said, cannot be surpassed by video games or IMAX screens.

“The unique characteristics of attending a fair, with traditions passed down through generations, are more popular today than ever before,” said Pickett. “There are so many ways for people to spend their money on entertainment that our uniqueness in what we do and the experiences that can be had are still so unique that we have high attendance and participation.”

“We are still unique and very popular.”

Arizona State Fair information: azstatefair.com.