September 13, 2007
By now, everyone should be back into the school routine, and we here at the eXceL Awards are no different. We have received orders for over 27,000 brochures from more than 220 schools to date: brochures that guide interested students to the eXceL website to learn more about this exciting scholarship competition! We do have more materials (brochures, posters, DVDs) available for those teachers who have not yet ordered. Please contact Teresa.Koopman@infarmbureau.com if you are a teacher or school representative who would like materials for your students.

Hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed the 2007 eXceL finalist artworks at the Indiana State Fair and at the Fringe Festival exhibits. We are proud that the eXceL Awards Interactive Arts Festival has been a part of the Indiana State Fair since 2000, allowing millions of Hoosiers to experience the talents of our high school students and providing a venue for their children to create their own works of art. And this was our first year with IndyFringe. The Fringe Festival has a dynamic and fun energy of which we hope to be a part for years to come. Thank you very much, Pauline Moffat and Liz Simon, for inviting eXceL to participate!

Throughout its lifetime, eXceL has partnered with arts organizations across Indiana in many different ways. And many of these partners have expressed an interest in finding ways to reach out to Indiana students. Beginning very soon, we will feature banners on our home page (www.infarmbureau.com/Excel) that will highlight opportunities and organizations that may be of interest to you for different reasons. It may be another competition that would offer exposure, money, and networking prospects; it may be an organization that provides educational offerings; it may be a company that offers arts-oriented goods or services, arts festivals or maybe even community service opportunities for you. We encourage you to investigate those offerings that interest you. All of these organizations share our vision for making the various art forms available and attractive to as many young Hoosiers as possible.

And we will soon be highlighting those companies that join Indiana Farm Bureau in sponsoring the eXceL Awards on the “About” page of the website. Many Indiana companies share our excitement in offering the youth of Indiana the chance to speak out through the arts, and co-sponsor the eXceL Awards with either financial or in-kind donations. We appreciate our partners very much and want you to recognize their contribution to eXceL!