Meet the 2018 Volunteer Relations Intern!

My name is Julianna Curtis, and I am privileged to serve as the Volunteer Relations Intern for the Blue Ribbon Foundation this summer. As a native Iowan, I have enjoyed coming to the Iowa State Fair since I was a young girl and am very excited to have a hand in the behind-the-scenes magic of this year’s Fair!

I have recently graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University (just a few miles outside of Des Moines…) where I majored in Business Management and played D1 tennis for the past four years. Tennis has allowed me to travel the globe and even brought my family to Tampa, Florida for about seven years. The sport also blessed me with many lifelong friends—in fact, just last year I brought my Argentinian friend to the Fair to gain a full-fledged experience of the Iowa culture and try her very first corndog, which she loved!

The warm climate and diverse experiences were great in Florida, but two years ago, the unique community of Iowa called my family back to our home state. It is this unique, family-like community that I am so thrilled to work with throughout the next three months. Whether it’s at the Corndog Kickoff or the Fair itself, I am eager to meet new people and interact with the over 600 volunteers that make my favorite event in the country so special.

Even at the young age of 10, I have always been a strong advocate for the Fair. When asked by a fellow competitor during a tennis tournament if I had ever visited Disneyland, which was near her hometown, I replied innocently by saying, “No I haven’t; have you ever been to the Iowa State Fair?” I assumed that she must have known this nationally-proven, well-known fact:

The Iowa State Fair was, and still is, the best Fair in the country.

My family and I next to our Blue Ribbon Foundation lamp post!