Corndog Conversations: John Putney

PAUL YEAGER: You see the golf carts at the Iowa State Fair. We like to give rides, and we're back for Corn Dog Conversations. John Putney was the first director of the Blue Ribbon Foundation. John, are you okay riding on my golf cart today?

JOHN PUTNEY: Sure.

PAUL: Let's go for a ride here, John. So what year did the Blue Ribbon Foundation start?

JOHN: 1993.

PAUL: So in 1993, the fair was starting to show some age. Did it feel like you were fighting a fire with a garden hose at first?

JOHN: Yes, it certainly did. You know, the fair board had to use all the revenue generated from ticket sales and concession commissions. And then they had to use that money to fix roofs and so on. So there was no way that we could really make any further improvements to the fair grounds. And so that was, you know, when the foundation started, why, that was our goal. To enable the fair board to make decisions based on the survival of this fair ground.

PAUL: John, are you okay if we stop for a minute and get a corn dog?

JOHN: Sure.

PAUL: It's time to have a corn dog any time of the day. What do you like about a corn dog?

JOHN: I'm not sure what I do like. I really am not big on hot dogs, but I love corn dogs.

PAUL: There's a big fund-raiser called the Corn Dog Kickoff. How did the corn dog get to be associated so strongly with the Iowa State Fair?

JOHN: When we thought about themes for the Corn Dog Kickoff, the corn dog just seemed to be the main staple of state fair attendees. So, you know, it just became a natural to call it the Corn Dog Kickoff.

PAUL: It's kind of like the second phrase, it's up there when you say state fair, butter cow, corn dog. They're all kind of together.

JOHN: That's right.

PAUL: We're in front of the Ye Old Mill. It's like state fair, butter cow, corn dog, Ye Old Mill. It is right up there with one of those top memories people have.

JOHN: It sure is. That was very important that we had that renovated as quickly as we did. Because it was in danger of being closed, as well.

PAUL: All right. Let's keep going. There's a couple more things I want to see. 

♪ ♪

We're going by the Administrative Center. That one looks like a new building to me and not a renovated one. How did that come about?

JOHN: Well, there was sort of a dilapidated old building there, so we needed to clean that up. At the same time the fair board decided they needed something for handicap assistance and first aid and just general information center. So that became a very important part of developing the credibility we knew we had to have. 

♪♪

I'm just so happy that we provide a fairgrounds and a state fair that has so many wonderful features that other fairs don't have and other venues don't have.

PAUL: Does that make you proud as an Iowan, to know how we all pulled together?

JOHN: I can't tell you how proud I am. I think that this undertaking is -- there should be a lot of other ones like this that go on in Iowa.

PAUL: John, thank you so much for going along on this Corn Dog Conversation. We had conversation and we had a corn dog. Thank you, John.

JOHN: You bet. Thank you, thank you.