OC Fair appoints chief executive successor

Steve Beazley, the OC Fair & Event Center’s chief operating officer and senior vice president, was named Thursday as the replacement for outgoing Chief Executive Becky Bailey-Findley.

The fair’s board of directors announced Beazley’s appointment this morning at its regular meeting at the fairgrounds.

Board members, after a closed session, said Beazley beat out a pool of candidates from inside and outside the company and finally emerged as the winner out of three finalists.

Beazley, who first worked at the fair as a sweeper at the age of 12, said he felt overwhelmed when his name was announced.

“This is a really hard moment to intellectualize,” he said. “I don’t know if I feel more joy right now or just humility to be selected. I’ve been here since I was 12 years old, and to be selected for this job, I just feel humbled.”

A former member of South Coast Repertory’s acting company, Beazley has lived in Costa Mesa for nearly two decades.

“To be living in the town I’m working in adds an extra layer of satisfaction,” Beazley said.

Dale Dykema, the president of the fair’s board of directors, said the board had received applications from people nationwide in the fair industry, but all the finalists for the chief executive job had been Orange County Fair employees.

“We found out, after interviews, that we had a lot of talent on our staff compared with people from outside,” he said.

Bailey-Findley, who plans to step down in August after this year’s fair, praised her successor.

“Steve has been a part of the fair family for many years,” she said. “I know his leadership, and his vision for the future will be firmly rooted in his love of the OC Fair and the community.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.