Welcome to the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation’s blog!
We are a non-profit organization with a mission to raise funds for the renovation and preservation of the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds. Since our inception in 1993, the Foundation has raised more than $200 million through individual contributions, state appropriations, in-kind services, and corporate, federal and state grants.
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As all the Blue Ribbon Foundation interns are in this week, it marks the first week of summer! Working full time has given me plenty of time to chip away at my Iowan of the Day to do list.
One project I’ve started is reviewing the Iowan of the Day applications from previous years. It’s amazing to see how many selfless people live in Iowa and strive to make this state even better. 
One example is 2015 winner Jary Quandt from Westside, Iowa! Jary is the Feed Production Supervisor for FAC cooperative in Arcadia, Iowa. He also started his own lawn care business in 1986 that he is still running today. Through all of this Jary still manages to deliver the Sunday newspaper.
Jary is very active in his local church by serving on the pastoral relations committee and helping with Vacation Bible School. Jary shows up early every Sunday to unlock the church and prepare communion before the services begin.
Serving the public in many ways, Jary is on the Westside City Council and focuses on economic development. Jary has also served for over 25 years as a volunteer fire fighter, and organized a New Year’s Eve steak supper to raise money for the Westside Fire Department. As if this wasn’t enough, Jary also helps during football games and manage a little league team.
Jary’s community can rely on Jary to help whenever they need it. In turn, Jary got to reap the benefits of being an Iowan of the Day at the 2015 Iowa State Fair!
“The experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity and showed me that Iowans really do appreciate things you do for them. The event was very well organized and it was an honor to be a part of the Iowan of the Day program,” Jary said.
If you know anyone who volunteers their time to make their community a better place, consider nominating them as the Iowan of the Day!
-Audra
May is a busy and wonderful month of the year! Weekends are filled with graduation ceremonies and parties as graduates embark on the next adventure of their lives. Check out the Iowa State Fair store to order your graduation gift! 
Mother’s Day is also this Sunday. If you’re looking for a way to honor the mothers in your life, the Iowa State Fair store has plenty of merchandise to get your mom in preparation for the Iowa State Fair! If your mom has gone above and beyond to care for not only her family, but her community, consider nominating her as an Iowan of the Day.
I sent out the last mailings for the Iowan of the Day today, so I get to check off another item on my summer to-do list. Finals are this week for Iowa State students and the rest of the summer interns for the Blue Ribbon Foundation start working full-time next week! I can’t wait for the summer ahead.
The more I work at the fair, the more I familiarize myself with the grounds. Last week I got to take a walk to the Youth Inn to check out the progress made on the renovation. It’s amazing how much I never noticed about the fair before.
If you haven’t already, be sure to mark your calendars for August 11-21, and I’ll see you at the fair!
-Audra
Wow, where has time gone? Next week is finals and also my last week as being a part time intern! The closer we get to August 11, the busier our office gets!
One way were getting more busy is through auction donations for the Corndog Kickoff. It seems as if there is something for everyone, sports tickets for both Cyclones and Hawkeyes, golf rounds all across Iowa and tickets to Knoxville Nationals. We have donations from Thelma's, known for the world's best ice cream sandwiches in my opinion and items from the self-proclaimed "Greatest store in the universe" by Raygun. To add to the list are donations of art, tickets to concerts and tours of breweries. The Corndog Kickoff truly has it all!
To my pleasant surprise, I received my first Iowan of the Day nomination! I have attached an image of the mailing because I am in awe of the beautiful penmanship, handwriting is a lost art for my generation and its the first time I am sad to see it go. Aside from that, its never too early to nominate someone as the Iowan of the Day and I love reading through the applications! It's amazing to see how many communities thrive because of the people in it.
I hope you have all had time to enjoy this beautiful weather, which makes studying for finals that much harder.
-Audra
The more I work in the office, the more interesting things happen.
Governor Branstad stopped by to use the phone, which caught me a little off guard needless to say.
And the more I send mailings about the Iowan of the Day program, the more responses I receive! It’s never too early to nominate and after you send those nominations my way, tell all of your friends to nominate someone they know as well. The more the merrier! If you’re not sure who to nominate, we are seeking community members who go above and beyond the call to volunteer. We want anyone who is passionate about making the world around them a better place and someone who lives Iowa values on a daily basis.
Today I think I finally came up with a theme for my media kits and the warm weather has me worrying less about finals and more about the summer ahead. I'm sure the warm weather also has farmers looking ahead as planting season begins! In the words of my father, planting is a sprint and harvest is a marathon, so good luck to all farmers out there.
-Audra
Another day, another dollar.
The Blue Ribbon Foundation received a package today for the Corndog Kickoff that was my favorite of all we have received, and will probably show 
my true journalistic colors. It was the “Directory of Iowa’s Best Ma & Pa Restaurants,” and, “Our Iowa, Picture-Perfect Views of Its Beauty and Bounty,” both publications that stemmed from the magazine Our Iowa. I’m personally a fan of this magazine since it was started by Iowa State Alumni Roy Reiman. Looking through one issue provides so many reasons why we should be proud to be from Iowa. If you haven’t considered attending the Corndog Kickoff, you should! Aside from this package the Blue Ribbon Foundation has been receiving so many more.
Today was a pretty special day for me as I sent out my first mailings asking for Iowan of the Day nominations! As I pressed the send button I had a surprisingly satisfactory feeling. I’m looking forward to reading all of the nominations I will receive soon. Nominations are being accepted until July 1, so there is still plenty of time to nominate someone you know! Ask your friends to nominate, post on social media about the Blue Ribbon Foundation and maybe you can see someone you know have their hard work and community mindedness pay off.
As the end of the summer approaches, the more questions about the Iowa State Fair I have! Marcus, the sponsor relations intern and I had a nice conversation today about what this summer entails. Marcus has previously served on the water patrol for the Iowa State Fair. Be sure to mark your calendars from August 11-21 and look out for me when you’re at the Fair!
-Audra
Iowa State Fair themed golf balls
This weekend’s beautiful weather has changed back to cold and gloomy days and after 12 weeks of staying healthy this semester, alas, I have caught a cold.
Despite a runny nose I have been staying busy at the Blue Ribbon Foundation. April will be a busy month as I start sending out media kits and have a lot of designing, writing and contact list updating ahead of me for Iowan of the Day. Today marks my third week in the office and if time doesn’t slow down, the Corndog Kickoff will be here before we know it! Until then, I still have finals and two brother’s graduations.
In the meantime, if you find yourself with some spare time, I strongly encourage you to check out Willow Pottery’s Facebook page! They are making the State Fair pottery for the Blue Ribbon Foundation this year and have some super cool time lapse videos of their work on their page.
The Iowa State Fair also keeps announcing their concerts this summer with some awesome acts including Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley and Jason Derulo. If you’re a member of Fan Fair, you can take advantage of ordering tickets earlier than the general public. Simply donate $150 to the Fan Fair program to be eligible!
With four more weeks of the semester, I’m becoming more and more excited for summer and becoming full time at the Blue Ribbon Foundation. But hey, time flies when you’re having fun!
-Audra