Five awarded Heritage Awards at IAFE Convention

By | November 30, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Today at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) Annual Convention, Heritage Awards sponsored by Haas & Wilkerson Insurance were presented to five exceptional individuals in the field of volunteer fair management, according to IAFE President and CEO Marla Calico. The convention is taking place Nov. 27-30 at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Awards were presented to the recipients, who were nominated by their fairs’ staffs. The awards recognize the achievements of outstanding volunteer fair managers. The nominees were required to have at least 10 years of fair management experience and could receive no more than $2,500 remuneration annually for serving in the position. The nominees’ fairs were also required to be current members of IAFE.

Receiving Heritage awards this year were Gary Van Aernam, Iowa State Fair, Des Moines; Ella Marie Hills, Washburn County Fair, Spooner, Wis.; Kent Hyde, Ozark Empire Fair, Springfield, Mo.; Gary McConnell, Iowa State Fair; and Heidi Steffen, Linn County Fair, Central City, Iowa.

Gary Van Aernam has served on the Iowa State Fair Board of Directors for 20 years and has been a member of the Audubon County Fair board of directors since 1981. He has served as fair manager and board president since 2009. He has also served as an Audubon County Supervisor, an elected position in which he helps oversee road and bridge projects, since 2010. 

The Van Aernam family has farmed in Audubon County for over 150 years and in 2021, were recipients of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Heritage Farm Award.  

Heidi Steffen has been involved with the Linn County Fair since 2005 when she joined the fair as a part-time marketing director. She was familiar with the fair having grown up as a 4-H member, and in 2008, she switched to a volunteer position so she could have voting rights and a say in the future of the fair. In 2005, when Heidi joined the fair, attendance was about 4,000. This year, attendance was 30,000.

Steffen also coaches youth basketball and has served on the board of the Advance Television Broadcasting Alliance. She is chief revenue officer at TitanTV, Inc., in Cedar Rapids. She is married to her husband, Chad and they have three sons.

Gary McConnell was elected to the Iowa State Fair Board in 2006, representing the Southeast District. He also serves on the Davis County Fair Board, where he has been given the Davis County Fair Board Director Appreciation Award for his many years of service.

McConnell is a member of Reed-Whisler Post #78 of the American Legion, He has received the 2016 Veteran of the Year Award and the Davis County Farm Bureau Citizen Award. In 2017, Davis County Schools honored Gary for 50 years of volunteer service. McConnell is a retired package driver for UPS and has been married to his wife Linda for 34 years.

Kent Hyde has been showing beef cattle at the Ozark Empire Fair as a member of the Marshfield, Mo., FFA chapter since the mid-1960s. His dedication since then and especially for the last decade-plus, has helped the fairgrounds through difficult times. In addition to his service to the board, he is also on the OEF Foundation Board. 

Hyde continues his family’s agricultural heritage with his cattle and horse ranch near Springfield, Mo., and he is a lifetime member of the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association. He is a senior partner in the firm of Hyde, Love & Overby LLP and he has engaged in civil trial practice since 1984. 

Ella Marie Hills has served in many capacities at the Washburn County Fair, starting out in the small animal’s barn as superintendent several years ago. She was later elected to the board as secretary and has remained in that position for the past 22 years. During the fair, she can usually be found in the fair office. 

Hills has served as a Girl Scout leader in the past and for many years, she worked for the local IGA store. She also served as the Evergreen Town Clerk for 13 years. She and her family have been involved in 4-H and fair for 41 years.