ISFA Newsletters

Welcome to 2008

Stars and Festivals Forever!

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Kirk Works accepts the Jo Hauck award from ISFA president Toni Meyer

As plans for our 2008 Festivals are well underway, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on our successful 2007 annual convention held in Indianapolis in November. During the convention, we took the opportunity to celebrate a significant milestone in the history of ISFA. In 2007, ISFA turned 35 years old, making us one of the oldest state festivals association in the country. With the theme, “Soaring Successfully for 35 Years,” ISFA recognized those who helped shape the association by paying special tribute to all of our Past Presidents. The late Josephine Hauck, Executive Director of the 500 Festival, was a founding father of ISFA and in 1973 she served as our first President. Each year since 1993, the Josephine Hauck Award has been presented during the convention to an individual for his or her lifetime contribution to the development of festivals and the expansion of Indiana tourism. It was my distinct honor to present the award to this year’s recipient, a 13 year veteran of the Swiss Wine Festival in Vevay , Indiana , Mr. Kirk Works. Kirk joins a long list of other veterans in the Festival industry who have walked away with this prestigious award. Congratulations again to Kirk!

In between all of this excitement and celebration, over 100 attendees representing over 30 festivals were treated to some outstanding showcase entertainment, a marketplace full of new and former vendors alike and were energized with new ideas to take their festivals to the next level. We said good-bye to two retiring board members – Betty Mook from the Harvest Homecoming Festival in New Albany and Linda Cawood with the Circus City Festival in Peru . Thanks ladies for all your years of service!

To top off a whirlwind couple of days, our 2008 ISFA Queen was crowned on the final night of the convention. The Pageant featured 16 young women from around the state competing for scholarships and the honor of representing the association during the upcoming year. After a lovely evening showcasing these young women in festival spirit and evening gown competitions, last year’s Queen, Christy Penner, crowned her successor Erika Tishner. Erika is a student at Ball State University and the former Tipton Pork Festival Queen. Way to go Erika ~ we look forward to seeing you on the festival circuit.

With the momentum we have following a very successful convention, it is time to set our sights on 2008! Join us this year as we celebrate with our theme “Stars and Festivals Forever!” Help your Festival be the shining star in your community with help from ISFA. Make plans to join us at Spring Workshop on April 19 for excellent opportunities to network and learn from event professionals. And it’s not too early to mark your calendars for the annual Fall convention. The convention will take place again at the Adams Mark in Indianapolis on November 7 – 9.

Looking forward to seeing all of you in 2008 and wishing you much success with your festivals in the upcoming months!

Toni Meyer
500 Festival, Indianapolis
ISFA President