Larry MacDougal
You'll have to be quick to catch Vern Kimball this week among the crowds at the legendary Calgary Stampede. His all-consuming job is to make sure the Stampede - billed as "the greatest outdoor show on earth" - comes off without a hitch. At 54, he is the CEO of the Stampede, which is now in its 98th year and will attract about 1.2 million visitors from July 9 to 19. He must also position the Stampede as a year-round business - and deal with the vagaries of a volatile economy and increasingly vocal animal-rights opposition.
What do you lose sleep over during Stampede week?
I'm not sure I worry. My job is about making people happy, so there is nothing that causes me any grief. If it's a rainy day, I guess it's a little harder for folks to be happy. We've been doing it now for almost a hundred years. We've pretty much seen most everything. Still, on the 10th day, on that Sunday night when I take off my cowboy boots, it's a very nice feeling, I can tell you that.
How many pairs of cowboy boots do you own?
I only own about five pairs. There are lots of people who would have 20 pairs. And I have four cowboy hats - I have straw for the summer and felt for the rest of the year.
I have a cowboy hat but I don't carry it across the country because I worry that it would be crushed on a plane. What do you suggest?
You need a hat box. It comes with little clips on it and it fits in the overhead compartment just fine. That hat is a great symbol of Western hospitality, so you need to get a good hat and good boots.
A friend who is a vegetarian and animal advocate says the Stampede is barbarous. Horses die sometimes and steers are injured. How do you deal with that image issue?
We think animals are very much a part of our heritage. We have 7,500 animals in the park during the Stampede. We have some really good protocols to make sure our animal care is of the highest standard. We work very closely with the Calgary Humane Society and the SPCA. And every year we take a look at what we did last year to see what can be done better. We have an evolving set of practices to make sure our animals are treated with a great deal of care.
We think the animals are an important part of our rural-urban connection. There aren't many little girls who don't like to ride horses. It's an opportunity to teach youth about a way of life, and to teach people about where food comes from.
But can you ever win over the critics?
It's a challenge, but we would invite any of those people to come and visit us and go for a tour. They would say, 'Wow, we didn't know you did all of that.' But convince every single person? No, I think there are interest groups that have a different agenda.
What is that agenda?
There are people who just have a different approach to how they see the world. We respect their rights to that, but we won't change our heritage and tradition to respect their particular views - other than do everything we can to make sure our animals are well taken care of.
You talk about the Stampede's role in reflecting the rural, cowboy way of life. Aren't you out of touch with the reality of the West, which is urban, energy-driven and high tech?
I don't think so. We're providing a way for the community to celebrate the best of its tradition, but presented in a fresh and renewed way.
The key thing is the values we express - and Calgarians have told us though survey research we need to do more of this. That is to keep that spirit of Calgary alive and that notion of Western hospitality. When you link that to the romance of the cowboy and see the whole city turn out wearing cowboy hats, boots and jeans, there is a celebration that is a lot like Christmas. It is kind of Christmas in July.
But I wouldn't say all we're doing is presenting the past. We've got our centennial coming up in 2012, and we are thinking through what the Stampede will look like for the next 100 years.
Do you worry about the economy?
We're expecting more people this year than last. Calgary has been dealing with volatile commodity prices for as long as I've been in business. There is one thing I know something about - that Calgary is resilient and entrepreneurial.
But do you get as many Americans?
Each year for the past three years, we have had fewer Americans. Our experience was that the community took up the slack. We expect more of that this year. For sure, the international and American travel has been lower of late.
How many hours do you work?
My typical work week is 65 hours but I pretty much do that year-round. Outside of Stampede time, you just do different things. Stampede is the fun part of the job, where you get to host people and share the best that Calgary has to offer.
We're also trying to build a gathering place for the city, and the challenge is to take that wonderful place, as it is for 10 days, and try to make it a happening place for 365 days. There is unlimited potential for us to work to that end.
Do you feel like you never get to see the Stampede because you are working so hard?
I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a rodeo or evening show from beginning to end without a break. I have seen every piece of it many, many times but to actually be there beginning to end, I did that a lot more when I was younger.
You're entertaining and hosting people from around the world. During Stampede, the leadership team might have 20 different hosting opportunities on any given day, from breakfasts at seven in the morning to some nights as late as midnight.
How did your education prepare you for this?
I have an undergraduate degree in political science, and that degree is an awful lot about what's important in life. I did political theory, which was all about what things were important to societies and individuals. The MBA was all about, 'Here's how you get things done.'
I don't think you could do what I do without some technical training. But I don't think I would have as much fun doing it without some liberal arts training. I think the liberal arts degree is as much a part of who I am as the MBA.
Is the Stampede still a big business networking event?
It is a fabulous networking opportunity for anybody in the business community to meet and host their people, and get some work done as well. If anything, the networking has become even more important to the community.
VERN KIMBALL
Title: Chief executive officer, Calgary Stampede, Calgary
Born: Hamilton, in 1956.
Education: Bachelor of arts, political science, University of Calgary. MBA, U of C.
Career highlights:
Worked for 10 years in food service at University of Calgary; recruited by the Stampede in 1986 to organize food services for 1988 Winter Olympics.
Served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer, among several roles.
In 2006, appointed Stampede CEO.