The Montezuma Area Business Fair was a success

       As we wrapped up the first Montezuma Area Business Fair on Saturday, April 6 at the Montezuma Schools, a young boy and son of one of our vendors, handed me a jar of maple syrup and thanked us for letting his family sell their projects.
         It was a kind gesture and much appreciated. Others also shared kind words and one gentleman stopped at our table and thanked us for keeping the business show going.
        Another one of our vendors, an Ames-based author, credited Debbie and me for publishing his first book. He now has six books.
        “The story in this book won first place in your writing contest and led to me publishing it,” he said while pointing to the book.
        He seemed so grateful to be there and was happy to reconnect with us after several years.
      It was a long and tiring week for Debbie and I and our oldest nephew, Gavin. Together, we hosted the show.
       We couldn’t have done the business fair without the help of our other two nephews, Peyton and Sawyer; family members, Carole and Jan and family friend, Abree. They helped carry in supplies, set up and take down tables and chairs, mark out the spots and put down painters tape, run the raffle table and many other things.
     I also want to thank the Montezuma Schools custodian staff for their assistance, activity director and school facilitator, Tim Burgess, and Paul Hawkins, transportation and maintenance supervisor, for allowing us to use the school and for their support.
        Also thanks to Doug and Stacy Helm and to Doug and Deb VerMeer for loaning us tables for the show. 
      In February, we decided to put this show together after learning that the former Montezuma Business Boosters had joined forces with the Montezuma Community Development and that there would be no business show this year, which was typically held in late March.
       As Debbie and our nephew, Gavin, were talking about the business show, I said, “Why don’t we have our own show?”
        They agreed and it grew from there.
       The first order of business was securing the school for the show and getting the word out to vendors and the public. There were several hours spent creating and putting up flyers in businesses, libraries and stores in Montezuma, Brooklyn, Grinnell and other places.
     Time was also spent collecting raffle items for the show. There are so many generous people across Poweshiek County who made the raffle and the business show possible.
      Debbie kept vendors updated, gathered information on the businesses and posted vendor spotlights on our website and coordinated the show layout. We had a total of 43 vendors and area organizations who participated in the show.
     This show was a first for us and the first for our nephew, Gavin, who was marketing his goat meat business, Boer Certified, for the first time. He graduates from Iowa State in May and he has already hit the ground running. We are proud of him and all our nephews and family.
       We are talking about doing this show again next Spring. We love promoting the Montezuma community and all it has to offer.
     We have our writers’ conference in the fall, our montejournal.com website, our books and now the business fair. Things are looking great.
        In wrapping this up, there is one thing about life that I have learned.
       It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and find fault and complain about what could have or should have been done. So and so said this and you should have done this are common complaints. There are always things that can be done differently or better.
        The key is stepping out and doing something, even if it is new or out of your comfort zone.
       I would much rather look at the positives in life and learn and grow from there. That’s how you make a difference in this world and your community, all while building positive relationships along the way.
       And with that said, my hat goes off to the Iowa Lady Hawkeyes. What a fantastic season and one for the record books. What Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeye players have done to bring attention to our state and the game of basketball is a story that will be told for years.
       Thank you ladies!
       And thank you to Montezuma for supporting our business vendor show.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.