I am the IAFE. I am the IAFE.

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Bryan Schulz, CFE. (Red River Valley Fair, North Dakota). “Education is the lifeblood for continued growth in a person
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I am the IAFE. ®



Amy Olson (Grant County Fair, Wisconsin): Being an IAFE member has benefited our fair tremendously! The website is a wonderful tool for up-to-date information and resources. It gives me the opportunity to interact and network with other fairs. I attended my first IAFE Convention this year (2015). What a great experience! It was not only educational but very motivational. Joining IAFE was one of the best decisions I and the fair board have made!



I am the IAFE. ®



Lisa Rogers (Rogers County Fair, Oklahoma): The IAFE is a vital part of growing my County Fair, networking, and new friendships.



I have become a better fair manager and love being a part of the large fair family in the IAFE.

I am the IAFE.

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Jeannine Domeyer (Delaware County Fair, Iowa): When I first started as a fair manager, by far the most use-



ful thing the IAFE provided for me was the Fairs and Expos magazine. I sat down with it every time it came and highlighted parts of the magazine that I thought I would want to use in the future. Here are the things I gleaned from that magazine: • new ideas to “borrow” for use at our fair • updates on legislative things that were important to our industry • analysis of how certain entertainers did at other fairs • and ideas for entertainers that are working fairs that we hadn’t been presented or hadn’t thought of

As for the convention, there is a wealth of opportunity there. Even the smallest of fairs (we are about 40,000, but fairs smaller than us) can find good things. • The trade show is a great place to find acts for all different budgets. I have bought acts from $2,000/day down to $500/day to use as free on grounds acts and have made contact with agents for main stage acts too in all different price points. • I have attended sessions on every possible topic you could think of. • I love to look at the ideas in the contest room and get new marketing/ag ideas from them, sometimes I “steal” the idea directly, sometimes I take an idea as a broad concept and build my own idea from it. • I have met a ton of people to add to my “arsenal.” When I need to know something, I can call/email these people and get answers from someone who can say they have “been there, done that.” I have made great friendships from State Fair managers down to fairs much smaller than me. I have a couple Huge Fair managers who I know would take my call in a heartbeat if I needed them. • I have listened to some out-of-this world speakers at the convention that have been extremely motivational. • I always come home after convention invigorated and ready to dig in again and try to tackle new things. It’s a great motivator each year.



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I am the IAFE. ®

Renée St. Jacques (Washington County Fair, New York): Fairs have always been a part of my life whether helping plan my hometown fair, being a member of YPI, or sharing new ideas at conventions. Even after joining the Peace Corps as an agribusiness volunteer in Cameroon, all my fellow Peace Corps volunteers will say that I mention something about fairs almost every day and they wonder about this “Fair” world that brings a smile to my face whenever I talk about it. Not only are there amazing people in the fair business, but all those people get to share their ideas and suggestions through the IAFE. There is nothing better than walking through a fair where families are having a good time but also learning about agriculture. The French fries are pretty good too.





I am the IAFE. ®



Heidi Steffen (Linn County Fair, Iowa): We have found information we have received from the IAFE from the online library to conferences very beneficial and useful. The key is to take the information and adjust it to fit your fair and location. I learn something new every time I attend one of the conferences. I can’t count how many times we needed an example of something and searched for it in the electronic IAFE library.



I am the IAFE.

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Bryan Schulz, CFE

(Red River Valley Fair, North Dakota)

Education is the lifeblood for continued growth in a person’s quest for job advancement and the Red “River Valley Fair Association board and management believe this whole heartedly. We see the courses

offered through the IAFE as being major factors in our staff’s advancement and our boards overall knowledge of the Fair industry.

In the past 8 years we have had three graduates from the Institute of Fair Management with two of us going on to get our CFE’s. In addition to the aforementioned graduates, we also have 4 additional staff members enrolled in the Institute Course and one more that will begin shortly. We have had a total of 8 board and staff members take the Consumer Protection course from which major changes were implemented in how we handle livestock events on our grounds. We are a midsize Fair with a limited budget for education but believe if we want to keep good people, we need to invest in their future by giving them all of the necessary tools to perform their daily duties and work for possible advancement. Thanks to the IAFE Staff and instructors for their continued commitment to the Fair Industry.



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I am the IAFE. ®



Tricia Rosendahl (Wright County Fair, Iowa): I have attended all of these meetings and conventions on my own dollar, but the

benefit is huge for me. I feel more confident in what I do every day knowing that others are out there with the same goals, frustrations, and excitements. I will continually highly recommend this organization to my fair board. There is always more I can learn!



I am the IAFE. ®

Cara Muhlenkamp (Mercer County Fair, Ohio): “I am so happy that I applied for the YPI Zone 3 scholarship. Attending the IAFE Convention

was an amazing experience. I feel that the amount of information and knowledge that is at the IAFE Convention is so valuable. It was so important and easy to jump into networking with all the individuals at the convention. All of the various topics provided as training sessions was great but overwhelming. I really wish I had been cloned for the convention.