Beau Schmitz

Something that I feel is missing in Iowa is a large enough population to hold and maintain a large professional sports team. Right now I would love to work in Des Moines because, as we were told today on our tour of Des Moines, it is the best place to raise a family and for a business to excel. Iowa though does not have the population to fill a huge arena for a sports team. The lack of demand for a major professional sports team because of how major collegiate sports is in Iowa results in Des Moines and other cities in Iowa only having minor league teams. As a sports management major I want to be employed by a professional team as my goal. As being a member of a pro team I would want to be a working on the financial side, which means I wouldn’t have to travel and would be able to have a set schedule hopefully. With a small market team I would have to deal with every aspect of the team, which results in not having set hours and me having to do a variety of things and not really focusing on my strengths.

Professional sports teams bring many opportunities for me, and for people across the state. If only there could be a mass immigration into Iowa we would have the demand for a team. Obviously that will not really happen, so if I am to stay in Iowa I can find job at businesses, which market sporting events such as Principal. I could also work for athletic departments at colleges or small market teams in Iowa like the Iowa Energy or Barnstormers. Who knows maybe in ten years there will be a market for a professional team, and I can find a job. The future holds endless possibilities!

Day Two at Leadership Iowa University, or LIU as we like to say, began early after a long night of blogging. We went straight to the Capitol where we met a variety of political leaders ranging from lobbyists to city councilmen to the governor of Iowa himself. All gave us great information as to how we can be involved in our community and help Iowa become the best place possible because hopefully this is where we will be living for the rest of our lives. After the Capitol we traveled to Pella, the Dutch capitol of Iowa, where we toured Pella Corporation along with Veel Hoeden, which is a co-working business started by two entrepreneurs in the area. After that we traveled to Tassel Ridge Winery where we were met by multiple business leaders from the State of Iowa and we were able to practice our networking skills at this event. I was able to interact with a variety of people ranging from a turkey farmer in Baxter to the owner of Tassel Ridge Winery himself. This experience really helped me get out of my comfort zone and helped me learn how to initiate conversation. Then to end the day we went to Sports Page Bar & Grill where we were greeted by many Rotarians. They gave us information about the many things the Rotary Club does, and how we could benefit by being a part of this club. Overall, today I felt I learned about a lot of new things. I don’t really know a lot about politics or about the Rotary Club. These two new things helped me see a lot of different perspectives and I think they help add to the great experience I have had thus far at LIU.

I believe that the greatest asset that I possess for the state of Iowa will be my ability to create a good working environment. I feel that my personality helps others relax and be able to be most efficient. I personally was not a born leader. I don’t like to get up and talk in front of groups of people, I don’t enjoy working with others at times, and the first words my friends would describe me as wouldn’t be outgoing. I wasn’t given those abilities, but I was given the ability to create an environment for a group that can help reach the best outcome possible. I enjoy having fun, making others feel comfortable, and making others feel as if they matter. I feel a leader should be someone who knows their followers on a personal level and can relate to them. I personally don’t do well under loud and bossy people so I want to lead people in a way that helps them feel like they are in an environment where they can do the best job along with feeling good about their work. By being able to do this people will be able to focus on their work and not be distracted by thinking that whatever they do will be heavily scrutinized by their boss or that if they get off task they will have to face serious consequences. By creating a good work environment people will respect me, their job, and their co-workers, which can help them be passionate about their job and enjoy it which can result in a positive product for my company and the state of Iowa.