Recognizing outstanding Iowans

April 13, 2023 

It has been a few weeks now since I have started with the foundation and I have been loving it so far! One of my big responsibilities is to coordinate the "Iowan of the Day" program at the fair. 

The "Iowan of the Day" program annually recognizes 10 oustanding Iowans at the Iowa State Fair. Winners are typically nominated by family, friends or members of their community that believe they go above and beyond and deserve recognition for their dedication to their communities based on service or something great they're doing to better their community.

Winners of the program will be granted some awesome prizes from the foundation such as 4 fair admission tickets along with VIP parking, introduction and recognition on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage, 4 tickets to the grandstand act of the night, $200 cash (perfect to try some of our favorite fair foods), use of the golf cart for the day and if that wasn't enough, a comfy stay at the Marriott Downtown Des Moines after the long (but very fun) day at the fair. Our goal is to treat our winners as royalty! 

If this made you think of someone that deserves recognition, don't hesitate to nominate them! Your nominaion will be considered for 3 years after submission and nominations are due July 1st of this year. Nomination forms can be found here on our website under events, "Iowan of the Day" and can be downloaded and filled with the nominees' information. Any questions can be directed to me, Macy, my email is: publicrelations@blueribbonfoundation.org and I would be happy to help! 

Our winners from last year include: Kristin Swift-Bondurant, Deborah Whitaker-Keokuk, Barb Westercamp-Cedar Rapids, Doug Sienknecht-Gladbrook, Emerson Bendickson-Panora, Janet and Dave Ritchie-Knoxville, Kathy Jo Porter-Waterloo, Bonnie Wood-Pocahontas, Amy Ryan-Forest City and Jeannine Lilijedahl from Essex. You can read more about each of these oustanding Iowans and their stories under "2022 Winners" in the Iowan of the Day section here on our website. If you don't already, maybe next year you will recognize some of the names of our winners...happy nominating! 

-Macy Loecke, Public Relations Intern