Thursday, March 28, 2024
For the first time in history, the Centennial Showboat, docked off Harriet Island, is being used as a venue for a historical display. Amy Noble Seitz, founder and CEO of Exhibits Development Group, is shown alongside the boat, a home to Treasures of Napoléon exhibit in St. Paul until Jan. 10, 2016.

Color her adventurous and effervescent

Being raised in a small town means everything; it defines me.

Many adjectives could be used to describe Blooming Prairie Blossom graduate of 1986, Amy Noble Seitz, founder and chief executive officer of the Exhibits Development Group (EDG).

Let’s start off with adventurous, effervescent, successful, entrepreneurial, family-driven, fun-loving, committed, thoughtful and independent.

The list could go on and on, but let’s just say that this small-town girl, now a very successful globalized woman, has not forgotten where her roots were planted. “Being raised in a small town means everything; it defines me,” says Noble Seitz, flashing her wide-eyed smile.

Noble Seitz started Exhibits Development Group in 2006. She devoted a year to writing a business plan in 2008, which was seeded by a successful businessman and art collector Ralph Burnet and five other shareholders. Approximately half of the shareholders are active in the business. 

The company also opened up an office in Washington, D.C., in 2008 to execute the first stage of the business, branding and developing international exhibition projects.

EDG creates, manages and helps fund traveling museum exhibits. Noble Seitz helps plan unique exhibits including the current Treasures of Napoléon, which opened Oct. 8 on the Centennial Showboat at Harriet Island in St. Paul, and will continue its run until Jan. 10, 2016.

Other exhibits on the world map include Sherlock Holmes in Denver, Colorado; Beyond Rubik’s Cube in Edmonton, Canada, MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition in Toledo, Ohio; CUT! Costume and the Cinema, Winchester and Dressing Downtown (Downtown Abbey, Richmond, Virgina. The Napoléon exhibit is the first one Noble Seitz has coordinated in her home state.

The business interest of Noble Seitz includes 11 employees and reportedly has grown to about $6 million in annual revenue.

The mission of EDG is “to share culture around the world through traveling exhibitions and special programming,” says Noble Seitz. Clients of EDG include museums, collections owners, institutions who serve the larger cultural community and alternative venues such as state fairs, expositions, casinos and more.

Noble Seitz has been an entrepreneur since fourth grade when she and Betsy Nahlovsky started the A&B Store in their fourth grade class, selling useful and not-so-useful items to fellow students.

A graduate of St. Thomas University, Noble Seitz majored in business administration, marketing and communications. She was raising four young children while under 30. “It was a huge balancing act but I learned from my mother and grandmother,” she said.

Noble Seitz is the daughter of William (Billy) and Margaret Noble. Her siblings include brothers Pat and Michael and sister Michelle. Noble Seitz and husband Christopher live north of Northfield where they restored a country house and raised a family and a menagerie of animals on a hobby farm.

Amy and Christopher have four children: Adam, 25; Riley, 23; Frannie, 20, and Zoe, 18. Christopher is director of the Country Malt Group.

Noble Seitz previously managed Champps Restaurants, worked for Carlson Companies, Lintex Corporation, Northwest Airlines and The Steele Foundation which brought her to the art business world, managing cultural products from the Middle East for United Exhibits Group.

From the travels and experiences with United Exhibits Group, Noble Seitz found a niche, which has grown into being a leader in traveling exhibitions today. Check out Exhibits Development Group at www.exhibitsdevelopment.com.

Noble Seitz is always quick to give credit to others in leading to her success in the exhibits industry.

“The village of Blooming Prairie raised me together with two hard-working and loving people who taught us that relationships with friends and community are very important,” Noble Seitz stated.

Noble Seitz said her mother, owner-proprietor of a beauty shop, was “beyond an inspirational mentor” to her. “She never complained,” Noble Seitz said. 

“My family are serial entrepreneurs, and I was inspired by Grandma Marie Morrison, who was the award-winning corn seed salesman, assuming my grandfather’s business when he died,” Noble Seitz  said. “She was stripped of her business when they found out she was a woman.”

Noble Seitz said she still has her grandmother’s corn trophy “and it inspires me.” 

Noble Seitz believes it’s still a man’s business world, “but we have come a long way” as women business leaders.

Traveling has been a big part of the life of Noble Seitz. She said she took a job with Northwest Airlines to overcome her fear of flying. Did it work? “No,” she quickly proclaims.

History and art have gone together to mold much of Amy Noble Seitz’ life. “History and art are intoxicating,” she says.

Noble Seitz currently works in downtown St. Paul but is always on the move and resembles a world explorer searching for more exhibits to promote. 

Although she has spread her wings to develop more business opportunities worldwide for herself and others, Amy Noble Seitz will not forget her hometown of Blooming Prairie. A Blossom she will be forever.

Dodge County Independent

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