Kelly Collins
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Kelly Collins has some big shoes to fill as she takes over as chief executive officer of the West Virginia State Fair, and she’s hoping some big wheels will help get her in the swing of things.
“We will have the super farm tractors at the fairgrounds on Memorial Day weekend,” Collins said. “The super trucks and super tractors will be there. It’s really going to be an exciting event.”
Collins, a native of Lewisburg, said that she grew up with the fair, showing livestock at the fair grounds in the years before she graduated from Greenbrier East High School in 2005. She went on to Morgantown, earned an undergraduate degree in public relations in 2009 and earned her masters degree in integrated marketing communications.
Collins worked for a time at the WVU Sports Information office and joined the state fair staff 2014 as the operations manager. When Marlene Pierson-Joliffe resigned as CEO earlier this year, Collins took the position on an interim position before receiving the appointment in March.
“I love the fair and love everything about the fairgrounds…