From Mall of America to Sun Country Airlines to senior vice president of the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, a lively career at the intersection of marketing, sales, and community development led Wendy Blackshaw to her dream job at the helm of Minnesota Sports and Events, an organization formed to bid on, procure, execute, and operate large-scale events in the Twin Cities. Blackshaw’s group bid on more than 35 events in the past year. She’s working overtime to assist with the NHL Winter Classic at Target Field on New Year’s Day, but the lion’s share of her waking hours are devoted to the NCAA Women’s Final Four at Target Center in April. What’s in a game? “Thousands of fans, athletes, media, families, and friends from outside our state that these sporting events attract to fly into our airport, stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, and shop in our retail stores.”