Captains Blog, 1/ 14/08 Aberdeen, South Dakota

Welcome to what I'm dubbing the "Captain's Blog"....and yes, the dorky Star Trek reference is intended! The reason for this blog is to share some of the experiences, travels and events associated with being part of the 2008 Aquatennial Ambassadors Organization (or AAO as it is referred to). I have a lot to cover in the first post so bear with me! I'll try and update it as much as I can during our trips.

A brief background....I work at WCCO Radio as the Assistant Program Director. In December, Mary Niemeyer, our Market Manager (the person who runs the three CBS station in the Mpls/St. Paul market), was asked to be Commodore of the 2008 Aquatennial and she asked if I would be the Captain. Our job is to be ambassadors for the festival and travel to other parts of the region (and in some cases other states or countries) and represent the city of Minneapolis and the 2008 Aquatennial. I gladly accepted.

Mary and I are both new to this sort of thing...while it's an exciting thing to be named to these posts, it's also a bit daunting. It will certainly be a taxing year with all of the events we are involved with but as I learned this past weekend, the people involved with these events are the best. These are the people that make their communities the special places that they are. I think I can speak for Mary when I say we are honored to be a part of this and I hope through this blog many of you will consider becoming involved in some way and I also hope that you'll come see us at some of the events throughout the year. Many, many people work their tails off to make this happen and they certainly deserve our support. Besides....they're fun!

After getting fit for the uniform, getting to know some of the people we will work with throughout the year and figuring out what it is we do, it was off to our first appearance in our new roles, Aberdeen, South Dakota!

The 62nd Annual South Dakota Snow Queen Festival is held in Aberdeen and gathers many young ladies throughout the state as they compete for the title of "Snow Queen". Mary and I arrived on Friday after a wonderful drive through western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. The trees were covered with ice and the surroundings were surreal. It's an area (especially South Dakota) that looks like it's relatively untouched. In fact, while gazing at the rolling hills and prairie land, I told Mary it looked like a scene from "Dances With Wolves"...no sign of Bison and/or Kevin Costner however.



After arriving at the hotel in Aberdeen, we were quickly introduced to Ann and Douglas Hair. Ann is the 2008 Aquatennial Senior Queen and Doug is the 2007 Senior Commodore. They are long-time supporters of the Aquatennial and through their volunteer-ism were named to their posts.

Our first order of business upon arriving in Aberdeen was to head out to the Living Center to be present for the crowning of the "Senior Snow Queen", a tradition that goes back to the '70's at the Living Center. After some entertainment provided by our hosts and a terrific job of fiddling by representatives of the Festival du Voyageur (a festival held in February in Winnipeg), we crowned the 2008 Senior Snow Queen. From there, it was back to the hotel.

Dinner brought in all of the candidates for the 2008 Snow Queen. We were joined by our friends from across the river, the St. Paul Winter Carnival. If you're unfamiliar with the royalty of the Winter Carnival, you don't know what you're missing! The royalty (King Boreas, the Princes of the Four Winds, The Guards, the Prime Minister, etc.) all are terrific people who donate a TON of time going to various events and know how to have a great time with it. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know this year's royalty (they are announced during the Winter Carnival Festival at the end of January).

Saturday brought on a new challenge....Frostopoly. Yes, just like Monopoly. This is a game not unlike a scavenger hunt. We were split up into teams of about 6 and were given two hours to complete tasks that were assigned on a Monopoly-like board (take a photo here, bring back a menu from there, find a live minnow, etc.) and bring everything back to the hotel. Let's just say that there are people that take this game very seriously....traffic laws are optional at best. To steal a line from Mary, Aberdeen is lovely but I'm sure it's much nicer when you're not going 70 mph down Main Street!

I was lucky enough to be on the same team as the 2007 South Dakota Snow Queen who was a terrific young lady and along with our other teammates (who were from Willmar, Winnipeg and Aberdeen) made the game very enjoyable even though we didn't win (I think we were robbed!!!!). Mary's team finished 1st. I'm not sure who they payed off but it worked.

Here, by the way is the 2007 Snow Queen, Elizabeth Troske:

We also welcomed our own Queen on Saturday....the 2007 Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes, Charissa Pederson (former Miss Monticello which happens to be next to my hometown of Big Lake). She came in with her parents on Saturday morning to join in the weekend's festivities. Another poised and wonderful young lady (I'm officially starting to sound like my Father....uh oh), I'm sure Mary and I will enjoy our time with her leading up to the 2008 Aquatennial when we'll welcome a new Queen.

Saturday night we loaded up the school bus with our out-of-town dignitaries (and I use THAT term loosely when referring to myself!!!) to head to the Aberdeen Civic Center for the coronation of the new Snow Queen. After being introduced to the crowd and meeting the candidates, we witnessed the crowning of Brittany Davis of Waubay, SD. We'll be seeing a lot of her over the next year at events throughout the region and will welcome her to the Aquatennial in July as well.

Charissa, Mary and Lindsey....

That's it for now....next up, the St. Paul Winter Carnival at the end of January. Come see us at the Grand Day Parade on January 26th at 1pm and also the Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade on February 2nd!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial