Episode 8: Tales from the State Fair

Real New Yorkers know that the Great New York State Fair isn’t all deep-fried treats and concerts! For almost 200 years, the fair has showcased the best that New York has to offer, from farm-fresh products to educational and artistic exhibits. 

As part of the aforementioned “best of New York”, ITS was at this year’s fair to showcase all the cool things our agency does, from geospatial mapping to cybersecurity to supporting state agencies. Fairgoers were also able to learn about career opportunities at ITS, as well as easy ways to protect personal data and stay safe online. 

On this episode, Equal Opportunity Specialist Nicole Messina and Cybersecurity Awareness and Training Manager Jessica Smith share their tales from the State Fair. 

Come one, come all, and hear how ITS made an impression at the biggest event in New York State!

Thank you for listening to the IT’S a Tech Podcast. For more information about ITS, visit our website at its.ny.gov. Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Transcript

 0:01
 You're listening to the IT'S a Tech podcast, an engaging conversation about the game-changing technology solutions being advanced by the state's Office of Information Technology Services.

 0:12
 Learn how ITS makes IT happen for more than 50 state agencies and over 20 million New Yorkers.

 0:21
 Real New Yorkers know that the Great New York State Fair isn't all deep fried treats and concerts.

 0:27
 For almost 200 years, the fair has showcased the best that New York has to offer, from farm fresh products to educational and artistic exhibits.

 0:35
 As part of the aforementioned Best of New York, ITS was at this year's fair to showcase all the cool things our agency does, from geospatial mapping to cybersecurity to supporting state agencies.

 0:47
 Fairgoers were also able to learn about career opportunities at ITS, as well as easy ways to protect personal data and stay safe online.

 0:55
 On this episode, equal opportunity specialist Nicole Messina and cybersecurity Awareness and Training Manager Jessica Smith share their tales from the State Fair.

 1:05
 Come one, come all and hear how ITS made an impression at the biggest event in New York State.

 1:13
 Jess,

 1:13
 Nicole, welcome to the podcast.

 1:15
 It's great to be here, Natasha.

 1:16
 Thank you for having us.

 1:18
 Absolutely.

 1:19
 So first, let's talk about each of you.

 1:22
 What did your career paths look like and what led you to ITS? Nicole, let's start with you.

 1:27
 I started in public service very young, right out of college.

 1:31
 I usually went to human resources and training roles.

 1:37
 And when I was over at OGS, I had the opportunity to be part of a diversity and inclusion office.

 1:43
 And I realized that I really like this line of work.

 1:46
 I liked going out, talking to the public, going to community events, teaching the general public how to get into state service, employee engagement events.

 1:57
 Those are always fun.

 2:00
 Yeah.

 2:01
 Yeah.

 2:01
 OK, Jess, how about you?

 2:04
 So I actually started as a student assistant with the Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Coordination way back in 2008 to fulfill my MBA internship requirement.

 2:14
 Oddly enough, my concentration was in marketing and it has come in very handy as we transition from CSIC to Homeland Security to ITS, all staying with a cybersecurity function.

 2:26
 Wow, so you've been here a while?

 2:27
 I have.

 2:28
 We're so happy to have both of you.

 2:31
 So ITS has exhibited the State Fair for many years and the booth has taken many forms.

 2:37
 Can you give our listeners a 30,000 foot view of the evolution of the ITS booth?

 2:43
 So I think we've been doing a booth at the State Fair for over 15 years now, initially with the offices of cybersecurity, fulfilling cybersecurity awareness to citizens at the New York State Fair.

 2:54
 And then ITS had just a cyber awareness function.

 2:57
 And we've added more and more each year about all of the things that ITS offers to the public and how they support New York State.

 3:04
 Yeah, sometimes we're the unsung hero.

 3:06
 So it's an opportunity for us to sort of put a little feather in our cap and remind everyone how important we are.

 3:11
 We certainly are.

 3:12
 Absolutely.

 3:13
 So anyone with any planning experience knows that being on site on an event is a tiny fraction of executing a successful event.

 3:21
 Can you give us a quick overview of all the activity that led up to event day?

 3:25
 We start planning a year in advance.

 3:28
 We have to secure our hotel contract right now for next year and then we take off again after the holidays in January, and that's when all of the fun collaborating starts with all the other ITS program areas.

 3:46
 We wanted to showcase the full scope of ITS this year, including GIS, app development, human resources, our customer service, accessibility.

 3:59
 One of the groups that we collaborated with was Luke Charde's team, the Digital Experience team.

 4:07
 They made our vision of our paper phishing game come to life.

 4:13
 That's phishing with "PH," by the way.  And the public loved playing that game and learning all about the different phishing scams.

 4:24
 So not only was it educating the public, it was also showcasing what we as ITS can do.

 4:29
 So it kind of was doing two things at the same time.

 4:32
 That's really cool.

 4:34
 So it's definitely a lot of a lot of meetings, planning, gauging public interest.

 4:38
 And we we love to expand and grow every year adding new interactions for the public.

 4:42
 Like Nicole mentioned, the phishing frenzy game was a huge hit, but we also had a GIS briefings app that Tim Ruhren and Sean O'Connell put together that showed the public all the things that GIS did.

 4:52
 And that was also a great thing for the public to see.

 4:55
 And to be honest, a lot of the planning is the fun part, selecting swag and creating slogans, ordering new technology and products.

 5:03
 And our team is always happy to help with all of that.

 5:05
 This year the PIO team was fortunate enough to work on a video project.

 5:13
 So we actually went around to ITS, videoed a number of different employees from different departments to really showcase the breadth of diversity of skills within ITS.

 5:27
 And as an aside, these videos are being released on ITS social media channels throughout September, so be sure to follow us on your favorite social media channels.

 5:36
 So prep is finished, everything's packed up, you're set up on site.

 5:40
 What was the first day like?

 5:42
 Boy, Natasha, that first day was a doozy.

 5:45
 Our booth was almost a giant sandbox.

 5:47
 Without going in too much detail, it took a lot of teamwork to get the booth set up and everything we needed in place.

 5:52
 WPS really stood up and helped us get all of our power needs in place and everything else together, so we appreciate that.

 5:59
 WPS: workplace services, correct?

 6:01
 Yes.

 6:02
 What was the overall reception like?

 6:04
 Was there something that surprised you about what fair goers found most engaging about our booth?

 6:11
 I was very surprised at how many people have had experience with being scammed as far as phishing emails, the grandparents scams, the romance scams, hearing all their stories.

 6:27
 It really surprised me just...the scale of how much this happens to everybody.

 6:36
 It' the new reality. Yeah, absolutely.

 6:40
 Yeah.

 6:41
 I think Nicole hit it on the head.

 6:42
 It's kind of eye opening to see how many people we educate because we're exposed to it every day so it's not a big deal for us.

 6:47
 But the vast number of people across all demographics that we educated about phishing and cyber awareness and child identity theft was was kind of amazing.

 6:56
 It's scary, but so glad that we're there spreading the word and giving people resources.

 7:02
 You know, it's definitely a scary time and always glad to provide the public with resources.

 7:10
 Obviously we have to stay professional, but tell us some tales.

 7:14
 What...what was the coolest thing that happened on site and what was the craziest?

 7:21
 I think one of the coolest things was that the governor came in and visited our building.

 7:28
 She came in with her entourage, which was very, very big, and she visited a couple booths, the Senate booth and the sandcastle.

 7:37
 So we were able to see her move around, but she did not come over and visit our booth.

 7:45
 There's always next year.

 7:46
 Yeah, right.

 7:48
 Another crazy thing was we had a really severe storm come through the fairgrounds.

 7:54
 I wasn't there for that day, but... Yeah, actually, I was out there for that day.

 8:01
 So there was a tornado warning in the next county over.

 8:04
 So that had some people on edge.

 8:06
 And then the new New York State Fair app started pushing out shelter in place, essentially seek shelter notifications.

 8:13
 So that drove a lot of people to the booth.

 8:15
 They had 40 mile per hour winds, but knocked down Gate 3, the State Police exhibit area, the giant steel repelling towers, I'm assuming that's what they were for, actually got knocked over, knocked down some fences.

 8:28
 So as bad as the storm was, it did drive a lot of people into the booth to visit with us and it kept us busy during the storm.

 8:35
 So I mean, silver lining and well, thank God everybody was safe.

 8:38
 That's all that matters, right?

 8:41
 So as with any event, I'm sure you both had a running tally in the backs of your minds of things you want to do next year.

 8:47
 Can you give us a sneak peek into some ideas that have been thrown around?

 8:51
 I suggested a hot tub, but I haven't gotten much traction on that idea.

 8:55
 Well, actually, Natasha, there are hot tubs in our building right near our booth.

 9:01
 Yeah.

 9:01
 And actually, during one of our shifts, somebody got into the hot tub.

 9:06
 Wow. Not one of our employeesA

 9:08
 It was a different, it was a different person.

 9:13
 So besides the hot tubs, I think we have to focus on what the people are asking for next year.

 9:18
 People ask so many questions on how to protect themselves, so we want to address that next year.

 9:23
 A lot about scams, what's the latest and greatest?

 9:25
 How do they protect themselves?

 9:27
 Identity theft.

 9:28
 All of the cybersecurity buzzwords were definitely used out there and it was great to see people at least acknowledge their existence, but also want to learn more about how to really solve the problem.

 9:37
 That is great, absolutely.

 9:39
 What advice would you give to someone at ITS that wants to volunteer next year but isn't quite sure what to expect?

 9:45
 And what do you think are the hallmarks of a successful State Fair volunteer?

 9:48
 We're looking for people who are enthusiastic, that are ready to engage with the public, share their experience or stories working at ITS, and we want them to enjoy the experience at the fair.

 10:01
 It's a lively place and we want them to take in that energy.

 10:06
 Absolutely.

 10:07
 So kind of piggybacking on that, we definitely want someone who can roll with whatever stories the public tells them because they can be a little crazy, but some of them are are actually very insightful and it's nice to have feedback.

 10:17
 Absolutely.

 10:18
 We also need people who can adapt to absolutely anything.

 10:20
 Like I mentioned the first day, our booth was almost a sandcastle and we need people that can can overcome that are willing to step in and step up to, to whatever needs to get done.

 10:28
 Pivot based on circumstances.

 10:30
 Definitely.

 10:31
 We can definitely do that at ITS.

 10:32
 That is one of our biggest strengths.

 10:35
 I know you were both very busy and may not have gotten a chance to explore the fair, but based on your overall experience, what is a must see or a must eat at the fair?

 10:48
 I think the concerts are one of the best attractions at the fair.

 10:52
 I was able to see some of En Vogue's performance and that was so entertaining.

 10:59
 There's also the birds of prey and the K9 talent show.

 11:06
 The big Expo Center always has a display, and this year's theme was the Ice Age exhibit, and that was very interesting.

 11:14
 And the building is is brand new and beautiful.

 11:17
 Wow, interesting.

 11:20
 So it's always neat to see things that you actually do out in the wild.

 11:23
 So the first weekend I was out there, the Asian Village was out there and they had Taekwondo demonstration team.

 11:29
 So it was really neat to see the kids out there, the courage it takes and the skill to be able to put that on out in front of people.

 11:35
 The second weekend, the classic 6 horse hitch series was out there.

 11:39
 So that was also really neat to see.

 11:41
 Essentially think Budweiser Clydesdales and again, that the talent and skill to do those kinds of things because you really need to see. You're driving multiple horses basically at the same time, correct?

 11:53
 And you have like what, like one lead per horse and you have to... And they have a mind of their own.

 11:57
 Oh, my goodness, that is hard to do.  Very impressive.

 12:02
 So we're coming to the end of our discussion, sadly.

 12:05
 But before you both go, I have one last question that I ask all of our guests.

 12:10
 Tell us about something that you are looking forward to this year and it does not have to be work related.

 12:15
 I'm looking forward to my favorite month of the year, which is October.

 12:20
 We got pumpkins, Halloween and also my birthday is there in October.

 12:25
 Happy birthday!

 12:26
 Thank you.

 12:28
 Well, happy birthday almost, almost.

 12:31
 But for the for our team, this kind of bookends our summer be starts with the New York State Cybersecurity Conference in June.

 12:37
 So very busy leading up to that.

 12:39
 And then we go right from that rolling into the State Fair.

 12:43
 So now that we've wrapped that up, I have a couple of vacations lined up for both October and November.

 12:47
 So I'm excited to get some time off.

 12:49
 Well deserved and well earned.

 12:50
 Absolutely.

 12:52
 So Jess and Nicole, thank you for coming on the podcast and for sharing your tales of the State Fair.

 12:59
 We can't wait to see what the team has in store for next year.

 13:02
 Thank you so much.

 13:03
 Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening to It's a Tech Podcast.

 13:07
 For more information about ITS, visit ourwebsite@its.ny.gov.