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It’s been more than a year since new leadership took over at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, but the story is much the same: The Ag Hall is still struggling financially.

Despite new governing board members, an entirely new board of directors and a new executive director bringing to the table fresh perspectives and a collective resolve to breathe new life into the Ag Hall of Fame, Executive Director Cathi Hahner said the center still closed its 2010 season with a deficit of $100,000. She said a line of credit was taken out to settle the deficit, but that is not the only debt that will have to be paid off eventually through what Hahner said could be another land sale.

Another debt yet to be paid off is the contract of former CEO Tim Daugherty, who was, along with the center’s entire staff, laid off at the end of the 2009 season. Daugherty’s $125,000 yearly contract included a $42,500 performance bonus, which Daugherty hadn’t received by the time of his layoff. He was supposed to have received it in 2009, but given the center’s financial circumstances, he had asked the governing board to hold off on paying him the total amount of the bonus. Under the agreement he made with the governing board, his bonus would, instead, accrue 5 percent interest per year until it was paid.

Hahner said despite Daugherty’s layoff, the center was still legally bound to settle the remainder of the unpaid contract, plus the bonus and 5 percent yearly interest. In 2010, Hahner said, the center paid $50,000 to Daugherty, which will settle his salary contract. Funds to pay off his performance bonus and interest will need to be found by July of 2012, she said.

Also left unpaid is the money that was taken out of the Ag Hall’s Etta Blanche Dahlgren scholarship account in September of 2009 to keep operations running. The amount taken out was a little more than $163,000, but the account is restricted, meaning those funds will have to be paid back eventually.

Still, despite the center’s debts and ongoing financial woes, Hahner said she was gearing up for a more successful season than last year. She said it was natural for the center’s new leadership to see a rough first season, having started off on such an unstable footing, but the only direction to go now is up.

“Last year, we had to come in and regroup … so I think this year’s the year where I think a lot of the work is going to be done,” Hahner said. “I think a lot of the planning was done last year, and now I think it’s time to execute those plans.”

Hahner said the Ag Hall’s staff was also being realistic about what hasn’t worked in the past and would be making changes to the coming season accordingly. One major change will be the length of time the center will be open. Instead of a normal season going from mid-March to December, the 2011 season will begin mid-April and run until mid-November. She said the amount of money it costs to keep the center open wasn’t being covered by the limited number of visitors the Ag Hall draws before April and after November, when it still can be pretty cold outside.

“The amount of visitors that we had come in, it wasn’t enough … (it) only paid about 25 percent of those expenses,” Hahner said. “It was a financial decision that it cost us money to be open during those times.”

Other changes will be made to the season’s event lineup. Tractor Daze and Trick or Treat on the Farm, always major draws for the center, will still be included in the schedule, but Santa’s Express is out, Hahner says. With the frigid December temperatures, she said there was not enough of a guarantee that it would be a good money-maker for the Ag Hall, especially given last year’s dismal turnout.

“The risks are just too high for weather … we ended up losing a little money on Santa’s Express (last) year, and the risks are too high,” Hahner said. “This year we’re just tightening the belt and not going to take the risk this year. I love Santa’s Express, it’s been my baby, I’ve been involved with it for a number of years … so it was a really tough decision.”

Much of the focus in 2011, Hahner said, would be placed on securing some large donations to the center and on fundraising efforts. In this latter area the center will have help this year from Carl DiCapo, a new governing board member who will be heading the fundraising committee. DiCapo, who was one of the owners of the historic Italian Gardens restaurant in Kansas City, is also well-known for his frundraising work.

“He was very instrumental in turning the World War I Museum (at Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial) around,” Hahner said, suggesting that, with DiCapo’s help, the future of the Ag Hall will have a similar outcome.

The Ag Hall will open for its 2011 season April 15.

Comments

1. 

   triedntru (anonymous) says…

   The Ag Hall's former CEO is just a turd that won't flush. Why would somebody get a performance bonus for a failing organization? If that's the case, can't he be sued for failing to do his job?

   Anyways, it sounds like they're making the right decisions. Chop the things that aren't profitable, and focus on what draws crowds. What draws crowds? Children's activities. You need to model yourselves after the Deanna Rose Farmstead operation. I would be headed out to the Ag Hall twice a month if I knew it had a petting zoo.

   February 24, 2011 at 9:25 a.m.

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