Cedar Fair appoints BET executive to board of directors

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

From the press release:

Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and immersive entertainment, today announced that Louis Carr has been appointed to the Board of Directors of its general partner, Cedar Fair Management, Inc., effective immediately. Mr. Carr will serve the remaining portion of John Scott’s board term, which expires in 2022. Mr. Scott, who was appointed to the Cedar Fair board in 2010, stepped down effective Sept. 24, 2020, to focus on personal business interests.

“I’m delighted to welcome Louis Carr to the Company’s board of directors,” said Dan Hanrahan, Cedar Fair’s chairman of the board. “Louis brings to Cedar Fair more than three decades of executive leadership and senior management experience in the entertainment, media and advertising industries, and is heralded by his professional peer group for his work around diversity, primarily with the African American community. Louis’s broad-based business perspective, including his knowledge and deep experience with consumer insights and brand building, will be a welcome addition to Cedar Fair’s board.”

Mr. Carr, (64), is president of Media Sales for BET Networks and is recognized as one of the most influential and prominent African Americans in the media and marketing industries. He has been responsible for more advertising dollars targeted towards the African American consumer markets than any other professional or company. Mr. Carr has served on the boards of the Ad Council; International Radio and Television Society (IRTS); Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH); and the American Advertising Federation (AAF). His current board posts include: The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), formerly the CAB, The United States Track and Field Foundation (USATF) and Drake University, as well as his Board of Trustee seat at Chicago State University. In 2019, in recognition for his commitment to help others, Mr. Carr earned The International Radio and Television Society Mentorship Hall of Fame Award. He holds a B.A. in Journalism from Drake University and is the author of two books; Dirty Little Secrets and The Little Black Book: Daily Motivations for Business and Personal Growth. Mr. Carr has earned the Diversity Award from the Hyatt Corporation and another Lifetime Achievement Award from the Patricia Martin Legacy celebration honoring his work around diversity from both personal and professional standpoints. He has also been listed on NAMIC’s Most Influential African Americans list in the cable industry several times.

Read the entire release from Cedar Fair.

I have kept a stiff upper lift about this but I'm starting to think they aren't interested in me joining the club.

Jeff's avatar

This guy has pretty much the ultimate marketing resume, so I'm curious to see what he brings to the group.


Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

Is he the first African American on the Board? He may well be though I've lost track over the years.

A lot of companies are adopting a form of Rooney Rule in terms of filling board seats. From his background/experience, looks like Louis is a strong candidate independent of that (and I am not sure if Cedar Fair adopted such a rule).

But is he Black?

Fun's avatar

Another potential angle here is that he can help better monetize the in-park television network.

RCMAC said:

But is he Black?

He is in fact Black. It's a whole new world now.

Jeff's avatar

WTF is that supposed to mean?


Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

I’m going to hope that RCMC was paraphrasing the meeting of Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles

Bart: Are we awake?

Waco: We’re not sure, are we black?

Bart: Yes, yes we are.

Waco: Then we’re awake but very puzzled.

Last edited by Touchdown,

2022 Trips: WDW, Sea World San Diego & Orlando, CP, KI, BGW, Bay Beach, Canobie Lake, Universal Orlando

Nope, that’s not it. It was just my uninformed way of saying that it’s a whole new world now.

I wasn’t trying to make an issue of it. I was just curious if he was the first black board member. It has been a pretty white company though they hire a lot of people of color, certainly in the seasonal ranks Having a black perspective at the executive level is a plus in my opinion.


"You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality." -Walt Disney

eightdotthree's avatar

Diversity on a board of directors is important.


Here's how I see the timeline:

-wahoo asks a legitimate question

-RCMAC does the callback we all were thinking of

-New guy outs himself as a potential racist

Happy Saturday.

-Someone that's been around for awhile forgets about the meme and tries to overexplain it with a Blazing Saddles reference


ApolloAndy's avatar

Yeah. It was clearly a reference to an old CBuzz inside joke. I'm sure Vater will be able to find it.


Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."

https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/coasterbuzz-memes#961821

07/31/15. About 3/4 of the way down the list.


One of my favorite/not favorite things ever.

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