National leader in managing the North American International Livestock Expo, preserving the Saddle & Sirloin Club and transforming the Kentucky Exposition Center into the sixth largest facility of its kind in the nation.
Born 1946 | Artist: Richard Steward Halstead (born 1947)
Impact & Accomplishments
Honored with a Saddle & Sirloin portrait on the Club’s 100th anniversary, Harold Workman epitomizes the legacy of this portrait collection, as the long-time leader of the world’s largest purebred livestock show—the North American International Livestock Exposition. Raised on a family farm in Livingston County, Kentucky, Workman earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Kentucky in 1969.
In 1974, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture named him as the first general manager of a new livestock show that would soon grow to become the NAILE. He was instrumental in moving the Saddle & Sirloin Club from Chicago to Louisville in 1977. In 1986, Harold Workman became the director of expositions for the Kentucky State Fair Board, continuing to oversee the NAILE, as well as the two other major events produced by the agency, the Kentucky State Fair and the National Farm Machinery Show.
Harold Workman was named President and CEO of the Fair Board in 1993, and his leadership transformed the Kentucky Exposition Center into the sixth largest facility of its kind in the nation. In Workman’s thirty-nine years at its helm, the North American International Livestock Exposition has grown from 2,500 head of beef cattle to 25,000 entries, representing eleven species and five continents. His leadership has ensured the ongoing success of the Sale of Champions youth program.
Harold Workman has served on numerous boards, including the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Kentucky Derby Museum, and the Kentucky Derby Festival. He received the Kentucky Farm Bureau Service to Agriculture Award in 1995 and has been inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni at the University of Kentucky. During the 2012 NAILE, just weeks before his retirement from the Fair Board, the Harold Workman North Wing Lobby at the Kentucky Exposition Center was named in his honor.
Did You Know?
Presented during the Farm City Luncheon held annually during the North American International Livestock Exposition, the Harold Workman Agriculture Leadership award is given to the men and women who have given unselfishly of their time and efforts in service to Kentucky’s Agriculture Industry.
The Harold Workman North Wing Lobby at the Kentucky Exposition Center was named in his honor in 2012.
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