Upon retiring from Olympic competition, Candy was active as a commentator for CBS and ESPN television networks covering national and international sporting events. During the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, Merrill joined NBC as a color analyst for live coverage of the Synchronized Swimming events and also produced special interest features on participating athletes.[5] During this period Costie was also engaged by Fortune 500 Companies such as American Express and Coca-Cola for numerous public speaking engagements.
Candy joined Merrill Companies in 2000, a multi-faceted commercial real estate development firm, in 2000 as a principal As a principal, Merrill directs all marketing, public relations and social media efforts for the firm and is actively involved in the development of office, retail and community engagement projects, including Prairiefire and the Museum at Prairiefire.[6]
In an effort to expand and nature the culture of the education-focused community in the greater Kansas City metro area and Johnson County, Kansas, Fred and Candy Merrill formed the Museum of Prairiefire Foundation in 2008 through a unique partnership with the world-renowned American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 2014 the Museum at Prairiefire opened to the public.[7]
Candy is now a founder, volunteer and supporter of the Museum at Prairiefire where daily programming and events foster a community focused on education while caring for its most underserved citizens. The foundation’s primary mission program, KC Urban Advantage, is centered around STEAM Education and equitable access for all. The Museum of Praireifire Foundation has also recently partnered with the College Baseball Foundation to bring the College Baseball Hall of Fame to Kansas in 2025.[8]
In 2023 Fred and Candy Merrill, along with a dynamic group of Grammy and Emmy-winning musicians and producers from shows such as Sesame Street and Nickelodeon, formed Kikabou: a music and nature-focused educational production company.