About the Podcast
“When you have a treasured event like the Fair that’s been around this long, there are so many stories that have built this great tradition” explained host Vince Tornero, founder of Wessler Media. “I’ve had the honor of hearing and producing these stories firsthand and cannot wait to share.”
The podcast released its first season in 2018, with each episode centered around a particular topic – history, love, competitions, animals, and of course, the cherished butter cow.
Tornero has sat down with dozens of individuals to talk about their relationship with the Ohio State Fair – from Clintonville native C. LaVon Shook, the man who literally wrote the book on the Ohio State Fair, to Dave Tracey of Holland, near Toledo, a vendor whose family has been selling root beer floats at the Ohio State Fair since 1956.
“The Fair is so important to so many people. It honestly transcends tradition. It’s deeper than that. One night, I’m talking to a professional juggler who’s dropped chainsaws on stage. The next morning, I am sitting at the breakfast table with a farm family as they share the intense ups and downs of farm life,” said Tornero. “It’s my goal for the listener feel as if they went through that experience, too. The stories are exciting, amusing and even a little scary at times, too.”
Tornero isn’t new to podcasts. He’s been hosting Columbus music podcast “In The Record Store” since 2015, is a former broadcaster from iHeartMedia including 610 WTVN, and even hosted Columbus by the Slice, a video quest for the best pizza in Central Ohio.
A Columbus native, Tornero left his full-time marketing job in December to follow his lifelong dream. “When I graduated from high school, I wrote down that I wanted to start a media company, and I did it.” He named his company Wessler Media, the nickname he has for his imaginative nine-year-old nephew Wesley.
“As a kid, I had a radio station in my room - well, until mom shut it down one day. Back then, would listen to old radio dramas. The ‘theater of the mind’ was always so fascinating to me. You could paint or create any kind of picture you wanted. Podcasting for me is a natural extension of that childlike imagination.