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Booker-Drew, who told Dallas Free Press she prefers not to speak about the situation at this point, conveyed the news of her departure via email to more than 130 nonprofit organizations and community partners that she works with and convenes on a regular basis. (Editor\u2019s note: Dallas Free Press is one of those nonprofits<\/a> and received a $5,000 State Fair of Texas grant<\/a> last fall.) Her email to community partners did not give any details about the reasons she is leaving or what might be next for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dozens of emailed responses to her news were full of loss, shock, anger and distrust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to raise questions as to why the State Fair of Texas is allowing such a valued employee who has had a tremendous impact on many of our programs in the southern sector to \u2018walk away’ so easily,\u201d Pastor Chris Simmons of South Dallas\u2019 Cornerstone Baptist Church<\/a> emailed in response. Booker-Drew is a member of his congregation. \u201cWe are all aware of the State Fair of Texas\u2019 history in the South Dallas community, and it has not been a shining one. As Froswa worked with us, she helped us to regain trust and confidence that the Fair was in the community for our good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appeals to community partners to reach out to State Fair president Mitchell Glieber<\/a> and board chairwoman Gina Norris<\/a> came from Simmons and several others, including Sherri Mixon of TR Hoover CDC<\/a> in South Dallas\u2019 Ideal neighborhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe news of Dr. Booker leaving was heavy,\u201d Mixon wrote. \u201cThere is no value we can place on the investment she has made in South Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glieber was named president in 2014<\/a> and amended the State Fair\u2019s mission statement<\/a> to make \u201ccommunity involvement\u201d a new pillar. At a virtual pastors luncheon hosted in October 2020 by Booker-Drew and her team, Glieber noted that when he became president, he \u201cwanted the State Fair\u2019s name to become synonymous with being a community partner\u201d and hired Booker-Drew to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The neighbors who live in the 75210 and 75215 zip codes surrounding Fair Park are 65% Black and 26% Latino, according to data the United States Census Bureau released in the December 2020 American Community Survey. The State Fair of Texas\u2019 racist history<\/a> as an organization, as well as the history of racially motivated eminent domain on the part of the City of Dallas<\/a>, which owns Fair Park, led to neighbors\u2019 present-day distrust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Booker-Drew joined the team as a director in 2016, and was promoted to vice-president in 2019, becoming part of the State Fair\u2019s senior leadership team<\/a>. Under her leadership, the State Fair awarded more than $3 million to South Dallas\/Fair Park nonprofit partners<\/a>, using proceeds from the Fair\u2019s annual 24-day-run each fall<\/a>. Her team established the annual Juanita Craft Humanitarian Awards<\/a> honoring the late South Dallas civil rights activist, co-created curriculum around Craft\u2019s life and work<\/a> for schoolchildren, and also published an anti-racism guide<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Booker-Drew\u2019s most fervent efforts focused on connecting the organizations and entities serving South Dallas so they could be more effective in improving the lives of neighborhood residents. She created an exhaustive list of community resources<\/a> that later became the Serve Southern Dallas website<\/a>, filtering nonprofits by geographic area and types of services. Her most recent effort was the South Dallas Employment Project<\/a>, a partnership between the State Fair of Texas<\/a> and Redemption Bridge<\/a>, with 100-plus nonprofit and for-profit organizations collaborating, including the City of Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s these efforts that have made Booker-Drew synonymous with the Fair in the eyes of South Dallas neighbors and community partners. When they think of the State Fair, they don’t picture Big Tex or the iconic ferris wheel; they picture her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glieber was out of town this week but sent an email late Friday afternoon in response to the calls and messages he had received over Booker-Drew\u2019s departure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe hear you loud and clear and share your disappointment,\u201d Glieber wrote. \u201cShe taught us much about how to be better community partners, and we will continue with the great work that she started.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlthough Froswa’ is leaving, rest assured, our commitment to the community is unwavering and we will continue to prove that with our actions,\u201d Glieber continued. \u201cWe will now focus our efforts on finding the next leader to embrace the responsibility that the Fair has undertaken to continue to improve the lives of our Fair Park neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten people are part of the State Fair of Texas leadership team<\/a>, seven of them senior vice presidents. Neither Booker-Drew nor Melanie Linnear, the only two Black members of the leadership team, and two of the four women, have \u201csenior\u201d in their titles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the State Fair is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, its annual tax filings are public and easy to view, thanks to ProPublica\u2019s Nonprofit Explorer<\/a>. The Fair\u2019s most recent 990 from fiscal year 2019<\/a>, which was filed April 1, 2021, shows that Booker-Drew and Linnear are the lowest paid members of the senior leadership team, with Booker-Drew earning $133,059 and Linnear $156,556. Linnear, the vice-president of food and beverage, also is the longest tenured member of the State Fair\u2019s leadership team, with 30+ years on staff. Her predecessor, Carey Risinger, retired in 2019 after 12 years at the Fair, earning $283,953 in his final full year as the senior vice president of concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n State Fair of Texas 2019 IRS Filing Salaries<\/a> by Dallas Free Press<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dallasfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Big-TX-Farms-34-1600x1067.jpg\")