135 days!

March 26, 2012
jennabeary's picture

It's been 4 months since I've taken on the role as Sponsorship Director here at the Blue Ribbon Foundation, and I finally feel like I'm really getting into the swing of things. I'm starting to answer the questions rather than ask them all the time (although there are still plenty of questions that come up), and I have officially started a countdown to the 2012 Iowa State Fair (135 days!). I have even started having dreams about the Fair.

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago to attend a national sponsorship conference. It was a great experience and I came back excited and ready to tackle the rest of the 135 days with vigor. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the "Fair world" and forget that there are other organizations and events out there doing exactly what I do. It was encouraging to share ideas with different industries and discuss ideas that could be interchangeable.

One random fact I learned at the conference for all you basketball fans out there: Ed Erhardt with ESPN was a keynote speaker at the conference and said that out of the 9 million brackets that were submitted online for March Madness, once Missouri and Duke lost, not one of the 9 million brackets had the chance to be perfect!

Random basketball facts aside, the conference was really encouraging and gave me a newfound appreciation for sponsorship and what we have been able to accomplish at the Iowa State Fair so far. We truly are one of the best in the nation, and I am anxious to really use these next 135 days to their full advantage and make the 2012 Iowa State Fair the best one yet!