Cassidy Evans has been named Garfield County’s new fair and events coordinator, as she will now oversee the annual Garfield County Fair and Rodeo. The New Mexico native brings a 4-H background with her and years of experience working in the southwestern United States.

Most recently she served as director of catering and conference services at Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale.

Evans grew up in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and then moved to Las Cruces, before settling in a small town in rural western New Mexico.

“We moved out to a ranch in a town called Datil, New Mexico, which was very small,” she said in the press release. “It was a ranching community and I took a bus an hour to school. It was a traditional schoolhouse, which was really cool. I then went to college in Silver City, so New Mexico is my roots.”

She would go on to attend the Garfield County Fair and Rodeo in 2018, having no idea she’d be planning the following year’s event. When she saw the job post for the fair and events coordinator position, the allure of Garfield County’s natural beauty and small town values was too great of an opportunity to pass up.

“What are the odds? When I saw the job posted, I thought, ‘this is perfect.’ I love small towns. I have a son, and Phoenix is a big city, so the goal was to raise my son in a similar location that I was brought up in,” she said. “Growing up in a small town taught me a lot.”

Deputy County Manager Fred Jarman led the search process for the new coordinator. He is on-boarding Evans in her new county role to help her prepare for extensive community outreach.

“We are excited for Cassidy to join our high performing team,” Jarman said in the release. “In addition to her strong experience and background, she is engaged and enthusiastic about learning the position, and continuing to foster the fair’s growth for the county and our diverse community.”

Evans’ mother worked in the hospitality industry, and she found herself following in her footsteps.

“My first job was as a housekeeper, which is the hardest job in any hotel, but it was a really great experience,” she said. “Those employees work so hard. I then worked at a front desk in college, and there was a steady progression in hospitality. I was an assistant general manager when I was 21, and then it all kind of took off.”

Evans is excited to work with Garfield County’s enthusiastic 4-H community, which reminds her a lot of home.

“I was raised with 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America), so all those things that were really integral in my development as a little girl are now available for my son,” she said. “I’m also really excited to explore the outdoors.”