Augie Study On Sioux Empire Fair

May 13, 2010 6:05 PM


A study released by the University of South Dakota started the investigation into Qadir Aware's role with the Sioux Falls Multi-Cultural Center. Now, Augustana students are behind a new report, coming out next week, surrounding the Sioux Empire Fair.

"About two or three hours a week kind of researching and brainstorming," said business administration major Joe Miller.
He is one of the eight business administration majors who signed up for a senior seminar class that did an analysis on ways to improve the Sioux Empire Fair.

"I kind of thought it would be something smaller, like a local mom and pop store that needed a new way to sell paint or something simple," said Miller.

Each of the eight seniors tackled a separate long-term issue the fair faces.

"So we take a look at, 'What do the clients need?' and look at the skills the students bring to the table because our students -- they're all business administration majors, but they have different strengths in what they bring to the client," said Business Administration Chair, Marcia Entwistle.

The students have never done a study like this, so it was a chance for them to bring what they've learned in class to a real-world setting. The CEO of the Sioux Empire Fair Association says he's confident in the results they'll produce.

"Many times they'd come out and ask piles of questions and I tried to give them as much data as possible," said Sioux Empire Fair Association CEO Trygve Fredrickson.

Fredrickson is a former professor at Augie, once teaching the same class Miller is taking right now.  Fredrickson says the decision to choose students for the work was a no-brainer.

"Getting a group of fresh eyes that are eager and about their business future can be very beneficial to an organization and also very cost-effective," said Fredrickson.

The students appreciate working with the Fair Association and also working together.

"I think the best part is working as a team because I think that's something you can transfer over into anything you're doing to do in your career because you're always going to have other people that you're working with," said senior Andrea Krogstad.

It's a winning situation for the Augie students and, the Sioux Empire Fair Association says it is for them too.

The Sioux Empire Fair Association will see some of the 43-page analysis tomorrow, but they'll see the complete report next Wednesday morning.  The Minnehaha County Commissioners are invited to attend that meeting.

The Sioux Empire Fair runs from August 10 to August 15.