After collecting nominations for all of December and holding community-wide voting on January 3rd and 4th, we have officially tallied up the votes! We now present to you the 2018 University of Okoboji Winter Games Cheerleaders:
John Hight, Okoboji
John was born and raised in Dickinson County and has chosen this as his permanent home because he is passionate about the area. John served as President of the Spirit Lake Noon Kiwanis and has volunteered through the club for nearly 10 years. John volunteers his time to coach youth football and wrestling, and is also a champion for water quality through his engineering designs.
Susan Hoien, Spirit Lake
Susan has served on the Board of Directors for the Pearson Lakes Art Center and the Iowa Great Lakes Trails. She organized fundraisers for those organizations along with the Okoboji Foundation Lakes Area Dinner table event. Susan has also supported the Blue Water Festival, Sami Center, Lakes Area Hockey Rink, Good Neighbor Fund, and HAPI. She also has a great Cheerleader smile!
Jim Hussong, Arnolds Park
Jim is the mayor of Arnolds Park, the city in which a lot of Winter Games itself takes place. He spends countless hours at council meetings to try to make Arnolds Park a great place to live, work, and play. He’s an all-around great guy and will make an enthusiastic cheerleader.
Al Krueger, Milford
Al greatly cares about his community. He is always so eager to help out other people. He truly takes pride in his job to protect others and has mentored many youth in the community as well.
Ann Meyer, Milford
Ann is always willing to support education and the school district. She promotes the Lakes Area when her husband entertains clients from overseas or outside the Lakes area. She came up with the Bean Bag Toss fund raiser for Winter Games which has been a huge success! She always greets you with a smile and is always having fun.
Brad Price, Spirit Lake
Brad’s heart runs deep for the area. He is a very behind-the-scenes kind of person who is passionate about economic development in the Lakes Area. His company headquarters could be located anywhere, but not for Brad—the beautiful Iowa Great Lakes is the only place he’s ever considered. HE has a big heart for non-profit organizations and politics, which can be seen by his willingness to serve. Brad’s favorite part of Winter Games is the Chili Cook-off. Brad raised his family here and now enjoys his grandchildren here as well. He is likely a person you may not know, but more than likely his behind the scenes presence has touches your life somehow.
Kiley Roth, Spirit Lake
Kiley is a very enthusiastic, happy person who is devoted to the Okoboji area. This positivity is contagious in her role as the Community Relations Coordinator at the Dickinson County Nature Center. Kiley is not only active in her community but also her church. It is a joy to see her assisting the public that visit the Okoboji area.
Deanna Wermersen, Okoboji
Dee has volunteered, served, and promoted the Iowa Great Lakes for over 25 years. She was instrumental in bringing the Hershey Track Meet to the Lakes Area for Dickinson County grade school kids. She also served as First Lady for the Nebraska/Iowa Kiwanis District raising funds for pediatric trauma kits for EMS teams. She served as a school board member and VP for the Okoboji School District for 6 years. She volunteers as Treasure for the NW Iowa SHRM Group for Human Resource Managers and Professionals. She also served as past President and Board members of the Spirit Lake Sunrise Kiwanis Club.
Congratulations to all those who were nominated. We can’t wait to hear these 8 fantastic individuals cheering loud and proud at the 38th Annual U of O Winter Games on January 25th – 28th!