ITEM 1 Prairie FestivalCITY OF 0
Ot e
MINNESOTA
TO: Otsego Parks and Recreation Commission
FROM: Ross Demant, Parks and Recreation Manager
DATE; January 10, 2014
RE; Otsego Prairie Festival
Background
The 2013 Otsego Prairie Festival was an overwhelming success due in large part to the
members of the volunteer organizing committee. I would like to thank each of them for
their time and effort in helping make the transition in Festival leadership a successful
one. The committee members included Jim Stockamp, Kim Welter, Brandy Favilla, Dan
Licht, and me.
Kim Welter provided extensive support for vendor relations, graphic design and website
programing throughout the year. she donated many hours making the look of the
Prairie Festival modern and inviting. Kim developed the new logo and was instrumental
in developing consistent, high quality image for the Prairie Festival. Her work on the
Prairie Festival was critical in more than $3,500 in sponsorship dollars from local
businesses.
Brandy Favilla joined the committee midway through the 2013 planning process
bringing to the committee her knowledge of craft fair organization and promotion.
Brandy helped organize and recruit over 90 vendors for the 2013 Prairie Festival
consistent with our goal to expand both the number and type of businesses
participating in the event= Furthermore, she developed a master plan for the day of the
event to would allow for a smooth check-in, setup and takedown of all of these
vendors.
Jim Stockamp, representing Otsego Rod & custom, is the veteran member of the
committee; his experience from prior years' planning with the Otsego Festival was
valuable with providing information to the committee and contact information for many
of the vendors. And of course, his work with Otsego Rod & Custom makes them largely
self-reliant in organizing the largest single element of the Prairie Festival. The efforts of
Otsego Rod & custom to promote the car show throughout the year leading up to the
event and their work invested by the members and their families the day of has been so
important to the success of the event for many years.
Dan Licht was another invaluable member of this committee. Dan's volunteer work
included assisting with me to lay the foundation of the Prairie Festival through
g
develo in policies and procedures to establish the general direction of the festival and
p
of course word smithing anything anyone would put in text form= Dan not only sat on
the Festival committee, but he also assisted with Prairie Festival as a member of
Otsego Rod & Custom and Otsego Lion's club.
Each one of these committee members worked long hours especially on the day of the
event to ensure its success. The number one goal of the committee was to ensure that
the vendors and more importantly the participants had fun and positive experience and
that the event represented the city in the best possible way. I believe we met this
goal.
I would also like to thank the city council for their support of both the event and the
committee.
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