New Year – New Goals

January 5, 2017
drewnorton's picture
There is something special about starting a new year. Celebrate your successes from 2016 and learn from your less successful moments. It is a clean slate to put the previous year behind you. This will be my 4th year with the Blue Ribbon Foundation and I feel like I have a nice handle on my job. I have already created a few new giving opportunies and will strive to continue to make improvements to our fundraising events. 
 
As a staff member, the end of a year can be stressful to finish projects and keep yourself organized for the turning of the calendar. For 2017, I’ve set a professional goal to try and get to know the Blue Ribbon Foundation donors better. Yes, I can recognize names and recall giving histories but I want to know more. I want to know the personal stories of why a family supports the Blue Ribbon Foundation. What is your favorite part of the Iowa State Fair? Do you have a special family tradition? Share with me something I don’t know about the amazing 11 day celebration every August. 
 
The Blue Ribbon Foundation publishes a quarterly newsletter and includes a donor profile. The very first donor profile in the spring of 1994 featured Speed Herrig, President of Cookies Food Products. Speed has been a supporter of the Foundation since the beginning with corporate contributions, supplying food for the golf outing and Corndog Kickoff. In 1997, Cookies Food Products partnered with the Blue Ribbon Foundation to recognize volunteers across the state with the Iowan of the Day program. This is just one of the many relationships that has developed as the Blue Ribbon Foundation has grown. 
 
I’ve enjoyed going back through 20 years of newsletters and reading about donors. It’s my goal to ask more questions to Fairgoers that stop in our office or call. The Fair can be a whirlwind of long days and short nights but I want to take the extra couple minutes to chat with volunteers and donors. It sounds simple because it is. And I look forward to what I am going to learn. 
 
I’m only a small part of the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation. It’s the entire State Fair staff, volunteers and donors that make the Foundation a success. Thank you! I can already tell 2017 is going to be a wonderful year.
 
1994 Donor Profile:
 
1998 Iowan of the Day presentation with Speed Herrig:
 
2016 Iowan of the Day presentation with Speed: