On behalf of the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, we would like to thank you so many for making our 45th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games another success for our business community. Although the games may have felt a little different from those of the recent past, lifelong memories were made for so many individuals from near and far. Events of this scale are not possible without an army of volunteers and the continual support from our entire community. It truly takes a village to make something like this happen and we would like to take a second to thank some key leaders for this year’s event.
Thank you to our sponsors for making so much of this possible. Our Presenting Sponsor GrapeTree Medical Staffing. A huge shout out to our Platinum Level Sponsors Smart Powersports of Okoboji, West O Beer and the City of Arnolds Park. Gold level sponsors include Hy-Vee, Pure Fishing, Rosenboom, Bug Masters of Okoboji, Fireball, and Dr. McGillicuddy’s, and our Silver sponsors include Alliant Energy. Thank you to our individual event sponsors Okoboji Motor Company for the Polar Plunge, Tony Thelen with The River Coaching and Consulting for the Food Truck Festival, Bank Midwest for the Burning of the Greens & Fireworks Extravaganza, Consumers Lumber for the Fireworks, Snappers Turtle Bay Cafe for the Bean Bag Toss Tournament, The Ritz for Snowball Softball, Ingvall Real Estate Team for the Chocolate Classic, Hinn Real Estate for the Chili Cook-off, Kozy Heat for the 5K Fun Run, West O Beer for the Stump Tournament, MHR Insurance for the Broomball Tournament, and Parks Marina for Flag Football. We would also like to thank Black Hills Energy for sponsoring the Winter Games schedules, Regional Transit Authority for providing transportation for our cheerleaders and media, ShoreStation for providing a trailer stage for Burning of the Greens and Diamond Concrete for providing the storage containers for the collection of trees.
We appreciate the leadership of this year’s Chair Andy Lux, Co-chair Mickey Harrington, and our 9 wonderful Winter Games Cheerleaders. A huge thank you to Rocky Thompson Photography for providing us with amazing footage of the games all weekend long. Thank you to our hundreds of volunteers, event chairs, Arnolds Park Amusement Park’s hard-working staff, KUOO, the Dickinson County News, the Lakes News Shopper, MC22, and all other news outlets for their non-stop coverage.
Thank you to County and City governments for working with us, the courageous Law enforcement of the Lakes Region, the Iowa DNR, Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire & Rescue for keeping us safe, and all of the Chamber businesses that hosted events that lead to a memorable weekend for our tens of thousands of visitors. Each and every business and their hardworking staff deserves a round of applause for welcoming individuals from near and far and making this weekend happen each and every year. It takes a very special community to unite & support an event that brings joy to our locals and visitors alike with an economic boost for our Chamber Members. Thank you to each and every one of you.
Blain Andera — CEO/President
Morgan Strauss — Director of Marketing and Events
Michaela Arneson – Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce
2025 Winter Games Results can be found at uofowintergames.com!