March 2025
Editor's Note
The Ides of March has long been a reference to the expectancy of doom and misfortune. Ides derives from the latin word iduare which means "to divide". This is referring to the moon phases where the full moon appears mid-March. Although the Romans tied this period to destruction, notably due to Julius Caesar's assassination, we can instead embrace the Ides as a transition from winter to spring or a shift from hardship to success.
We hope that zFairs has brought you success this year and we look forward to renewing with you again to continue to make your future events effortless.
Featuring: NHD International
National History Day started in 1974 as a local competition in Cleveland, OH. With the outreach efforts of founder Dr. David Van Tassel, the competition grew and held its first national competition with 19 states in 1980.
NHD celebrated its 50 anniversary in 2024. Their competition continues to inspire students to connect with history from all across the nation, and even internationally.
We had the privilege of talking to Matthew Elms of Singapore American School, and this is what he had to say about NHD International:
"SAS and British School Jakarta originally set up NHD South Asia in 2013. Students now compete in NHD International which allows any student in the world not from the US, Guam, China, or Korea. Hundreds of students of mine have qualified for nationals over the years from SAS and while I was in the states, some have become National Champions as well.
Anything good in life takes hardwork and dedication. NHD pushes and stretches teachers and students in ways that can't be anticipated. By being associated with NHD, I have had a lifetime of magical experiences."
Thank you Matt, for sharing with us! And good luck to all of our NHD students!
If you would like to be featured in our newsletter, reach out to: communications@zfairs.com
New and Improved
We are consistently working on getting zFairs more user friendly and streamlined. Here are some things that were recently added or changed:
New this Month
- Bulk mailer can now send emails to partially registered accounts. We also included additional keys that can auto-fill information.
- We added a certificate of appreciation for judges
- "Advanced Settings" under Staff tab is now "All Settings"
- With certain keywords, entries can be tagged for review.
- You can now lockout teachers and participants from accessing and changing participant profiles
- Personal or public notes can be added to entry status.
See how these features function on: www.youtube.com/@zfairs-tv
New Last Month
- People page has new "sort by option" and new icons
- Multi select race and ethnicity and custom questions
- Teachers can be judges
Team Notes:
Jumping right into the height of fair season, our tireless team has been working hard, keeping up with support tickets, and fixing bugs to keep your fairs running smoothly.
We are working on transitioning our website to guide potential clients to the right direction and making it easier for our current clients to navigate to helpful pages such as FAQs, blogs and software guides. The new website should be up and running by Summer 2025.
If you have any questions or suggestions for changes, reach out to us at: support@zfairs.com
zFairs Tip: How to Get Sponsors
With the recent budget cuts, sponsors are needed now more than ever. Here are our tips on just how to land those big sponsors.
- Where to look: Start close to home. Local companies are more likely to donate to local causes, because their target audience is local. Reach out to bigger companies that may be lesser known like health labs, facility services, management services, and software companies.
- Go in prepared: Be thorough, and transparent. Show them the costs of running your event and exactly what their money will be going to. Tell them how you would like to advertise for their company.
- Invite them to participate: Ask your sponsors if they would like to send a representative to judge, present awards, or just attend the event. Show them that you are interested in them, and not just their money.
We wish you the best of luck in securing the sponsors you need. We are here to support you in this journey, and we look forward to seeing your event thrive.