TH: When you were a girl, were you involved in any organizations that exhibited or had activities at the fair?
SL: No. Other than the Dubuque Dance Studio. I was a dancer as a little girl and we used to perform at the fair, but outside of that, no. We were an urban family. We came out and enjoyed everything, all the sights, sounds and smells and the animals, but we didn't really participate on that level.

TH: In lining up entertainment, do you work with a sub-committee of the fair board? Who's making the decisions about what particular acts to pursue?
SL: We have 24 elected officials and then out of those 24 members, members of the community, people in the community that maybe buy entertainment, the radio stations, DJs, things like that can serve on any committee. So the public can serve on a committee if they choose to do so. Then that committee sits down with a list provided by our talent buyer. That list consists of names and also cost. We just kind of whittle through it and say, "OK, are these people being played on the radio stations right now? Is CMT playing their videos? Is MTV playing the videos?" If we know that people in the community are being exposed to that certain brand of entertainment, then we know that we can move forth and purchase it. Some years, it's a big challenge.

TH: What does it cost to get in to the fair? $6?
SL: Seven dollars. But where do you go that you get everything on the ground, from animals, which is obviously our bread and butter. It's the agricultural heritage that puts us here every year. All the way up to the rides. We've got one of the best carnival companies in the United States running our carnival and midway, so you get it all. Racing, tractor pulls, corn dogs and everything.

TH: Yeah, you can't forget the cotton candy. Very nutritious.
SL: Well, nobody can count calories when they come to the fair.

TH: You mentioned some frustrations that you experience in your job. Any others?
SL: Probably lack of funding. We really have a wonderful organization here. We benefit the community in so many ways, secondary ways that people just aren't aware of. We use all non-profit organizations during the fair just to fill many duties, rather than just hire our neighbor and pay him by the week, we bring in the Morning Optimists and the Noon Optimists and the Lions Club and The Lutheran Layman League and Boy Scout Troop 26. I mean, there's just tons of these organizations that participate. And the great thing about that is that the money stays local. But I'm not always sure the community realizes the economic impact that that has on the community. Lots of fairs will bring in the little gyro stands that travels all over the country and goes to all different sorts of fairs and when they leave, they take their money with them. But we've really stayed true to what our mission is and that's being a community resource. We do that through all of these fundraising efforts at the fair.

TH: Say a Kiwanis Club has a food stand. There's a profit-sharing type of arrangement with Fair Board?
SL: And it's minimal because we have to maintain the buildings and we maintain the water and the electricity and the gas and things like that. It's 17 percent of their sales, of their profit, after expenses. For example, the Lions, they get to do eye exams with that or they get to buy kids glasses with that. That's just some that's really actually very unique to our fair. A lot of fairs make it simple and they say, just bring in the food stands. We get diversity. We get everything we want. We struggle to maintain that every year. We want to keep that the way it is. I can tell you, going on my sixth fair, we haven't raised that concession fee. It's been at 17 percent for a very long time. We're just covering our expenses with that. And that's fine, because that money stays here and it allows us to give back to the community.

TH: So, 83 percent of service club profits go back to their particular programming.
SL: Yes.

TH: The fairgrounds, as you mentioned, is a year-round operation. You have dances; you have wedding receptions.
SL: Yes. Auctions. Livestock shows. Horse shows. We had a boxing tournament. We do lots of exhibit type shows. Big Boy Toy Show, which is by the Telegraph Herald. We do the Sertoma Home Show. Gun shows. Everything. The great thing about our location is we're not bottlenecked into one type of business. We can go from a livestock show to a formal wedding and we can do it all at the same time.

TH: I'm trying to picture that one.
SL: Got the barns at one end, you got the ballroom at the other. Livestock trailers down there; cars this way.

TH: How did you and your husband, Charlie, meet?
SL: He was a pilot, a boat captain, on the Island Princess. Do you remember that boat? It docked at the Pelican Pier on the Mississippi River and I was a waitress. Right out of high school. We met, I don't know, I guess it was 1989 and in '91, we got married and have been together ever since.

TH: So you got married in '91. So you were just a year out of high school, a mere child.
SL: I know. I think how lucky am I to have married the right person because a lot of people get married young and they're not thinking more than the wedding and things like that. Just all the great stuff that happens, that could happen when you get married. We were just extremely lucky. We're very compatible and we're best friends. He does a lot to help me out here. He's a Mr. Mom because I put in a lot of nights and weekends. He does the laundry and makes the dinner and gets them to school. Then when he needs me to do that, I do it too.

TH: Now, is he going to catch a lot of grief at work to be referred to as Mr. Mom?
SL: No, I think they know he is. He definitely is and he knows it, too. I think he's pretty proud of that. There's not a lot of husbands that take that role and aren't embarrassed by it. And why should they be? I think it's pretty admirable that he allows me to do my career and something that I love and enjoy and he knows it and he just steps up and takes on some of the mom roles.

TH: At 33, you have this job you love. Is there a long-term career goal? Is it just to retire with a 35-year badge from the Dubuque County Fair Association?
SL: My president tells me he has a chain and ball ready for me if I ever decide to go anywhere. He reminds me of it quite often. My goal would be, I'll stay here as long as they'll have me and things are going well and that I can contribute to the Fair Association. If ever I chose something else, it would probably be something that Charlie and I could do together. It wouldn't be to go into another corporate setting or another company. It would be something that he and I could do for our family together. It could happen some day, but we have no plans for that now. Right now, we're just happy the way things are going.