Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Whether it be plain or loaded, visitors of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass. truly enjoy a baked Maine potato.
At the Oct. 17 meeting of the Maine Potato Board, executive director Donald Flannery told directors that 84,300 baked Maine potatoes were sold during the 17-day fair, also known as The Big E.
“It was a very good year,” said Flannery. “We couldn’t have asked for better weather. There was no rain … if anything, there were a couple of days where it was too hot for fair-goers. We had record sales.”
Last year, 78,820 baked potatoes were sold during the annual tradition.
For the last few years, the Board has charged $4.50 for a baked potato, which are served plain, with bacon bits, sour cream or chives and butter. The gross income this year totaled $379,350.
The most successful day was Saturday, Sept. 22, in which 6,852 potatoes were sold. By comparison, only 3,924 were sold Tuesday, Sept. 18. It takes about 1,200 50-pound bags of potatoes to keep the booth stocked.
The booth serves a dual purpose. Besides promoting Maine potatoes, booth sales account for 35 percent of the board’s annual income, or nearly $355,000. That money, in turn, is used for advertising and other promotional costs.
“It’s a pretty substantial part of our budget,” Flannery said.
From Sept. 14-30 – for 12 hours a day – a crew made up of Massachusetts residents and Maine Potato Board officials helped move potatoes from six, large convection ovens to the hundreds upon hundreds of people who stood in line for a Maine spud.
While Flannery and the other potato board staff members – Director of Development Timothy Hobbs and Administrative Assistants Carol Adams and Carol Yaeger – travel to western Massachusetts to oversee booth operation on the three weeks of The Big E, day-to-day operations are overseen by a local staff of 30 full- and part-time workers. At the head of that staff is Kitchen Manager Cindy Weber, who has worked at the booth for almost 20 years.
“It would be impossible to do without the local people,” Flannery said.
In the past, the board also paid to have FFA chapters from Aroostook County travel to The Big E to help with the potato booth, but the travel and lodging costs became prohibitive. Instead, the board now gives all the chapters a $1,000 annual donation.
Though Flannery said final figures on their expenses and profits won’t be known until all the receipts are in, the 2007 Big E was “very good for us.”
“We were busy down there,” said Flannery, noting that 7.5 potatoes were sold every minute, or 451 an hour.
Gate attendance to the Big E also increased this year.
Figures presented at the board meeting show that 1,227,888 people attended the event, which is 111,535 more than last year.
“The comments we received were all favorable,” said Flannery. “We had beautiful potatoes which were supplied by local grower Barry Campbell. They were excellent quality.”
Officials called the Superiors the “least expensive potato on the fairground.”
The potato booth, which is located in the Maine building (each of the six New England states has its own building to promote tourism, economic development and state colleges and universities), has become of The Big E’s top draws.
