DECATUR - This year's Illinois State Fair manager wields a lot of power, rubs shoulders with state dignitaries and works to make thousands of fairgoers happy.

Amy Bliefnick of Decatur takes her job seriously. She was appointed fair manager in January, the first woman to hold the top position in the 153-year history of the state fair.

A few rainy days earlier this week kept fair attendance low, but Bliefnick didn't think it dampened fair spirits and remains pleased at how well things have gone.

Every day, Bliefnick can be seen riding around the fairgrounds in a golf cart greeting people or talking on her BlackBerry device.

"I have all this so I can work 24 hours," joked the 48-year-old Bliefnick on Tuesday, as the BlackBerry remained perched on her ear. Another cell phone was hooked to her denim skirt and a lapel microphone (connected to a battery-operated radio) was clipped to the collar of the black fringed cowboy shirt she wore.

Since the fair started Aug. 12, Bliefnick's day begins at 6:45 a.m. She rides through the 368-acre fairgrounds to make sure everything is in place, does a few radio interviews, and attends staff meetings and events throughout the day.

"I think a lot of people like the changes that I've made this year," Bliefnick said while reading an e-mail on her BlackBerry.

One of those changes Bliefnick made includes a street band performing every day. The Gene Trimble Clown Band from Newman made their way through the fairgrounds Tuesday, blowing their horns and playing music. And Bliefnick didn't hesitate to join the band, moving side to side to the music.

Bliefnick also enhanced The Heartland, an agriculture display area, where a sand artist was hired to design large sand sculptures of a barn and cornucopia, which has drawn onlookers into the area.

During the Illinois Farm Bureau welcome event on Tuesday, Bliefnick was right in the mix, shaking hands and talking with state officials and dignitaries with the Taipei Economic and Cultural office in Chicago and part of the U.S. Taiwan Council; Gov. Rod Blagojevich; Judy Baar Topinka, state treasurer, and others.

Then Bliefnick sat down for a quick interview with AgriTalk Radio out of St. Louis, Mo.

"We still had 56,000 people here at the fair on Sunday when it rained for 10 hours straight," she said boasting to the radio host about all the things going on at the fair.

Soon she rolled away in her golf cart toward the Director's Lawn area and welcomed hundreds of people who attended the Ag Day luncheon. But then she had to dash off again toward the grandstand building to judge the hog-and-husband calling contest.

When it came to choosing a state fair manager, Chuck Hartke, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture said there was no other choice but Bliefnick.

"It was just a given because of her bubbly personality. She is forceful in her decision making and who can say no to her," Hartke said. "I'm very pleased that she is our state fair manager this year, and she's doing a fantastic job."

Bliefnick, however, said her first love is still Decatur. She was one of the first female interns in the sports department at the Herald & Review. She married and became a stay-at-home mom for nearly 15 years. And then she took a job as director of development at St. Teresa High School for nine years.

Bliefnick became bureau chief of business services, overseeing both fair and non-fair activities, for the Illinois Department of Agriculture in 2004. She later served as acting fair manager for a short period until her appointment as state fair manager in January.

"I think of myself as the host of a party for a million people," Bliefnick said. "And I think what I have accomplished is to bring a little more enthusiasm to the fair. I love the people and the people make the fair what it is."

Darrell Beck, 72, rides around in his golf cart picking people up and hauling them around the fair. He loves wearing the white golf shirt with the words on the upper front of it that says, "State Fair Manager's Dad."

Beck remembered when he first took his seven children to the state fair back in the 1960s.

"We didn't have a lot of money then, and all the kids wanted to get on a ride. We would stop and get a hot dog and then see the animals," he said.

That childhood memory and family tradition has stayed with Bliefnick. It is one reason she insisted on having a parade march through the fairgrounds at 4 p.m. every day.

She drove a red Cadillac designed golf cart in the parade, with tractor trailers and other floats following behind. Music from the soundtrack of the 1945 movie "State Fair" is blaring through the air.

At the same time, Bliefnick is waving to the crowds of people lined up along the street and singing along to the words from her favorite movie, "Our state fair is a great state fair -"

Sheila Smith can be reached at sheilas@;herald-review.com or 421-7963.