THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

Globe advisory board member co-chairs RAGBRAI publicity committee in Storm Lake

By Rosemary Bernth
Globe staff reporter
(Email Rosemary)

Dawn Prosser of Storm Lake has been keeping herself busy this summer. Besides being the development director for St. Mary Parish and School and a board member of The Catholic Globe Advisory Board, she has also taken on the role of co-chair of the publicity committee for the RAGBRAI Storm Lake overnight.

Prosser and Diane Porter, who works in marketing for the hospital in Storm Lake, were asked in March to be co-chairs of the committee. Their first task was forming the committee to work under them.

“We got right on it and called a group of people and asked if they wanted to help with the committee,” said Prosser. “We are very fortunate. I think everybody that we asked said yes.”

Some of the tasks the committee was responsible for were creating a logo and tagline for Storm Lake, signage and creating a tabloid with a map about the different community activities during RAGBRAI.

“Our responsibilities are obviously to get information to two publics – one would be the Storm Lake community and the other public would be the people that would be riding through on RAGBRAI,” said Prosser. “The big things people are interested in are food and the main stage entertainment.”

To help prepare for possibly a record-breaking attendance, Prosser said the committee also set up merchant meetings so vendors and local businesses knew what to expect.

“Merchants could come and hear what is being planned, what RAGBRAI involves for our community, what the impact would be and any questions they might have of how they can participate,” she said. “The economic impact is an estimated $2 million for one day in Storm Lake.”

Prosser said she considers the committee to be a good, hard-working group full of experience.

“We called people that we knew understand the nature of marketing and public relations,” she said. “It’s just wonderful how everybody is on the same page and you don’t have to explain the ins and outs of working with the media because we’ve all been there. It’s just a wonderful group of professionals and they’re dedicated to making a wonderful event. I’ve been so impressed.”

Prosser said her duties on the publicity committee are similar to those at St. Mary’s.

“A big part of development is public relations, working with the media and writing,” she said. “I write something every day – press releases, job descriptions for volunteers, PowerPoint presentations, or a speech. It’s similar skills that I use every day.”