News Releases: Iowa State University

QUICK LINKS
Today's News
News releases
ISU homepage

NEWS RELEASE

08-01-02

Contacts:
Carole Custer, University Marketing, (515) 294-3134
Elaine Edwards, ISU Extension, (515) 294-5168
Mitch Hoyer, State 4-H Office, (515) 294-1531
Anne Krapfl, University Relations, (515) 294-7065

ALUMNI CONTRIBUTIONS, 4-H CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, HEALTH HIGHLIGHT IOWA STATE'S FACE AT THE 2002 IOWA STATE FAIR

AMES, Iowa -- Visitors to the Iowa State Fair will walk among Iowa State University alumni who, through their professional and volunteer efforts, are making Iowa stronger.

At the university's main exhibit in the Varied Industries Building, life-size cutouts of 24 Iowa Staters will be accompanied by brief summaries of their contributions to the economic betterment of Iowa. Their stories were culled from among 68,000 living alumni in 894 communities and all 99 Iowa counties.

The state fair runs Aug. 8-18.

"Our graduates are our best contribution to the development of our state," said Carole Custer, director of University Marketing. "Their stories tell the impact of what Iowa State does for the state of Iowa."

The cutouts will tell the stories of Kirkwood Community College president Norm Nielsen; Hy-Vee president Ric Jurgens; Denison High School Spanish teacher Georgia Hollrah, recipient of the Iowa State Education Association's Human Relations Award for her assistance to the state's growing Hispanic population; and Karol DeWulf Nickell, editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine; among others.

The Iowa State exhibit also will highlight the Cyclone wrestling program, both Cael Sanderson's success and the team's winning tradition. As in past years, fair-goers can get a Cy tattoo on a face or ankle; and enter drawings for T-shirts, DVD players and tickets to Cyclone football and Iowa State Center events.

Fair visitors can e-mail an Iowa State "e-postcard" from the exhibit and pick up lots of free Cyclone athletic posters and fall sports schedules. The University Book Store will sell ISU merchandise at the exhibit.

Extension promotes health
ISU Extension will be back in its usual spot in the northeast corner of the Grandstand featuring an exhibit, "Just For the Health of It." The exhibit is part of a major initiative on rural mental health coordinated by ISU's Extension to Families, and addresses mental, financial and physical health.

Fair-goers can complete a self-survey of their credit card use to assess whether they need to make changes in how they perceive, use or repay credit. The exhibit will offer information on Extension services to families or farm owners, including a new computerized debt repayment program, computerized analysis of farm records, one-on-one farm financial counseling and Extension hotline phone numbers for family and financial concerns.

As part of the 4-H centennial celebration this year, fair visitors can sign an oversize birthday card at the Extension exhibit. It will be presented to 4-H leaders on the last day of the fair. The exhibit will include a video camera for visitors to recite the 4-H motto or recount what the four Hs stand for. The tape will be presented at the birthday party.

Extension's "Midday" radio report will be broadcast live from the Extension booth most weekdays during the fair.

Happy Birthday, 4-H
4-H's traditionally strong presence at the Iowa State Fair will be enhanced by a celebration of the 4-H national centennial. A birthday party will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, in the 4-H Building on the fair grounds. The first class of the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame will be inducted during the gathering. Each of the 100 4-H counties (Pottawattamie is divided in two) could submit a nominee to the first class. Ice cream refreshments will be served.

One hundred 4-foot high birthday candles will decorate the 4-H Building's interior and a giant birthday cake will be outside during the fair. A pictorial history of the first 100 years of 4-H in Iowa will be on display in the 4-H Building. As part of this history-gathering process, staff members will record the stories of former 4-H members who visit the exhibit.

A full-color, illustrated children's book about Iowa 4-H will debut at the 2002 Iowa State Fair. Copies will be sold for $10 by the Iowa 4-H Foundation in the 4-H Building. In cooperation with Iowa Stories 2000, a statewide literacy program spearheaded by First Lady Christie Vilsack, celebrity Iowans will read from "A 4-H Story: Helping Hands, Caring Hearts" at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily on the center stage in the 4-H Building.

More than 3,000 4-H members from all 99 counties will show an estimated 4,000 exhibits in the 4-H Building during the fair. The 4-H Building also is the site for more than 1,200 presentations prepared by 4-H members. These include educational presentations, clothing discussions, extemporaneous speaking performances and non-judged "Share the Fun" performances.

Another 1,900-plus 4-Hers are scheduled to bring some 7,800 livestock and horticulture entries to the state fair. Market sheep (1,249 entries) and market swine (947 entries) have drawn the highest participation this year.

-30-