Meet New Fair Chief Zeke Fraser

By Jondi Gumz

At a special meeting June 6, the Santa Cruz County Fair board hired Zeke Fraser, 51, of Santa Cruz, as the new manager.

His first day was Monday. His pay is $8,135 a month.

With the 2023 Santa Cruz County Fair coming up Sept. 13-17 at the fairgrounds in Watsonville, he plans to meet with volunteers, staff and community members and work to make this year’s event a success.

“We are the odd collision of art and agriculture, surf and turf, mountains and sea,” he said in an announcement of his hiring. “Where else can you buy fresh grown strawberries in the morning, spend the day at the beach, and then take a train ride through the redwoods?”

Fraser comes from FileOpen Systems, the document rights company on the Santa Cruz Westside, where he was director of operations.

“Zeke worked with FileOpen for 12 years,” said co-founder Sanford Bingham. “He was our first hire in Santa Cruz when the company moved here from New York.

“Julie Edwards” from page 6

Today, CTE in Pajaro Valley schools involves more than 3,200 students, 50 teachers, 65 courses, and 26 learning pathways at 10 high schools and middle schools in the 18,000-student district.

Courses include public safety, fire technology, patient care, programming, and video production. Newer classes, which can be taught online, include biotechnology, entrepreneurship, innovation design & manufacturing, ag mechanics 3, and innovations in green technology.

PVUSD Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, praised Edwards for transforming CTE programming inside and outside the classroom.

“Ms. Edwards leaned in with a keen student focus and equity lens to listen deeply to design and build a rigorous CTE program,” Rodriguez said, noting the array of innovative and creative A- G aligned courses that prepare students for their futures, and give them the option of pursuing admission at a University of California campus.

“The impact of Ms. Edwards’

He’s an organizer, a planner, and an honest communicator; a natural leader. The County Fair could not have made a better choice.”

Zeke is married to Staci Fraser, and they’ve lived in Santa Cruz County since 1995. Both are California natives. They don’t have children, and Zach has extended family living elsewhere in California.

He told Aptos Times, “As far as hobbies go, I enjoy hiking and camping, and I enjoy fiddling around with creating tabletop/card games — not many have made it off the drawing board, but that’s why it’s a hobby.”

Fraser is a UCLA grad. He worked at Washington Mutual Bank for eight years as financial services officer, departing in 2002 for Santa Cruz Mortgage Co. as operations manager for four years.

Next he went to Coast Lending Group in Soquel as director of mortgage banking for close to three years. Then he joined Borelli Investment, a property management company in San Jose, for a year-and-a-half as staff accountant before taking the FileOpen job in Santa Cruz.

“Fraser” page 10 dedication will benefit generations of students across our community,” Rodriguez added. “She definitely deserves this recognition.”

Key local industries like sustainable agriculture, plant science, engineering/ engineering technology, and agricultural technology are among the fields of study offered in CTE’s learning pathways, which also include applied chemistry and biotechnology, construction trades, film and video production, graphic design, programming, and computer science.

While other districts offer CTE, Pajaro Valley classes focus on the students’ own interests and talents.

This approach has been shown to increase motivation and graduation rates, spur higher levels of academic achievement, and ultimately result in higher-wage jobs. Hands-on projects, inspiring speakers, and regional worksite visits are key components but rigorous academics remain a pillar of the programs.

Edwards’ initial step was to upgrade and qualify every CTE course as college preparatory, to ensure each

Fairgrounds Resilience Centers Funding

Thestate Department of Food & Agriculture has awarded more than $88 million to 12 fairgrounds for upgrades such as kitchens, heating and air conditioning, showers and related improvements for sheltering people and animals in times of need.

The Santa Cruz County Fair will get $150,000 to upgrade the historic livestock barns that the state had deemed unstable and unusable for the 2022 fair.

The funding for “resiliency centers” was included in the 2021-22 state budget.

Work is to begin in late summer.

A committee that identified selection criteria consisted of CDFA, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Department of Social Services, and representatives of the fairgrounds industry (including California Construction Authority, the joint powers authority in charge of construction at fairgrounds).

3rd DAA Silver Dollar Fair, Butte County: New event center & Jack Vanella Hall upgrade $30,000,000 24th DAA Tulare County Fair: Building 1 class satisfied admission requirements for the California State University and University of California systems.

With Pajaro Valley businesses and industry in constant need of adaptable, educated, tech-savvy employees, CTE is playing an increasingly important role by preparing students for jobs in this technologically advancing region.

PVUSD’s CTE programs align with local employment needs through advisory groups and local professionals

& 2 Demolition and Rebuild, Building 3 upgrade Completion $11,000,000

24th DAA Kings Fair: Fairgrounds-wide infrastructure upgrades $3,500,000

26th DAA Amador County Fair: Windmill Restaurant/commissary kitchen upgrade & multi-purpose concession stands $1,500,000

27th DAA Shasta District Fair: Trinity Hall upgrades & new community kitchen $4,000,000

28th DAA San Bernardino County Fair: Building 1 & 2 upgrades $6,000,000

35th DAA Merced County Fair: Yosemite Hall upgrades & pavilion reroof $5,000,000

50th DAA Antelope Valley Fair, Lost Angeles County: New Marcc campus, emergency operations centers, and culinary facility $20,000,000

California Exposition & State Fair, Sacramento County: Restrooms in livestock srea, HVAC at Expo Center, replacement of fabric tent on Building D $7,000,000

10th DAA Siskiyou Golden Fair: Fairgrounds Broadband upgrade $100,000

14th DAA Santa Cruz County Fair: Livestock Barns upgrade $150,000

20th DAA Gold Country Fair: Placer Hall HVAC upgrade $250,000 in business, industry, higher education, and community organizations.

“As an administrator, I am privileged to have the opportunity to make a positive contribution in PVUSD,” Edwards says. “Delivering on the promise the district makes to students to give them access to transformative experiences and high-quality environments enabling them to explore, learn, and prepare for life after high school gives me a sense of urgency every day.” n