Du Quoin Businessman Ron Porter new president of Showmen's League
A family-owned food business that literally grew out of a two refrigeration truck bodies parked in his dad's backyard decades ago is now an entertainment industry success story.
For Ron and Laura Porter, his parents Raymond and Carolyn Porter, and their entire family it proves that the American Spirit is alive and well for anyone who dares to dream in color. They do.
The latest chapter in this hometown success story is Porter's recent election as president to the national Showmen's League of America , a fraternal group of industry philanthropists which dates back to the organization's founder, the Wild West's "Buffalo Bill" Cody, America's original showman.
Rich in history and founded in camaraderie, The Showmen's League of America is a community of showpeople - both men and women - dedicated to service and fellowship. By providing scholarships, financial aid and memorial services, the league promotes the mutual welfare of members and all showpeople, in good times and bad. It honor the legacy of those who have come before.
The Showmen's League of America was founded in 1913, by a group of outdoor showmen meeting at the Saratoga Hotel in Chicago. Buffalo Bill Cody, the Wild West performer, was elected the club's first President. The Showmen's League of America is the oldest organization of its type in North America.
It is a well-earned fit for Porter, whose 36 staff members serve America's fair and exposition industry. More than a dozen over-the-road drivers now carry food and supplies to over 4,500 events each year.
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Porter Foods was started in 1958 by Raymond and Carolyn Porter. They made food deliveries to hospitals, schools, churches and restaurants. They eventually expanded their service coverage area out to over a 70 mile radius to provide local organizations with high quality food and supplies.
One group of customers was the concessionaires at the Du Quoin State Fair, which has been in Du Quoin since 1923. When the fair came to town Ray and son Ron would walk the midway and take their orders. Ron was in grade school when he met these concessionaires and took food orders while dad talked to the concessionaires.
As Ron grew older, he became an integral part of the family business and when Raymond retired in 1993, Frank King of King Food Service, and a native of Herrin, Ill., called Ron asking him to bring some supplies to his next fair in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Having never shipped foods out of the area before, Ron was hesitant. But once he did the math, traveling south didn't seem impossible.
In selling to the McKinney family from Hughes Springs, Tex.--loyal customers to this day--Ron realized he had found a niche business opportunity that no one else had filled. Concessionaires needed a reliable source for their product and someone that had enough warehouse space to store the concession foods and supplies. Ron was going to deliver to concessionaires on site and supply them with any food, equipment or disposable goods they needed. Not having to load their stock trucks and carry product around from fair to fair was a huge selling point to concessionaires and Ron was willing to be there and service their needs.
The rest is history.
He started attending trade shows, organized his own shows and conventions and traveled to dozens of fairs to see what his customers needed.
Today, Fare Foods is an eight-figure business (the original Porter Foods was merged into Fare Foods in 1999).
His beloved Du Quoin is central to a nation still in love with fairs,circuses and expositions and he has never forgotten his roots. In fact, he and Laura have a beautiful home on the northern edge of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, which is being expanded even now.
"Dad gave us a wonderful base." The business is headed into a third generation with son Trampas' involvement. Ron feels blessed by his family, by the people of Du Quoin, and friends in the industry. A member of the Showmen's League since 2007, Ron brings to his presidency next year the theme "With the future of the Showmen's League so bright you'll need to wear shades."
He wants young people who have been associated with the industry to be fully engaged in it.
And, he has the ability to do that.