August 19, 2009
The last turtle race of the 2009 season was a whopper. First, it was the largest, last day crowd in recent years with 320 racers competing for top honors. Second, the weather was tenuous with rained filled clouds threatening to deposit their drops on the crowd. However, the rain held and the races and other events went on without a flaw.
The two racers that emerged as grand winners were six-year-old Danny Bubalo of Anoka, MN who had the fastest turtle and thirteen-year-old Aidan Anderson of Seattle, WA who had the slowest turtle.
Pre-race activities were as popular as ever. The hula-hoop participants and dance participants jammed the center circle to compete as best in their group. Again the chicken dance singers were outstanding. They were Mackenzie Davis of Columbia Heights, Trent Mix of Longville, Taylor Sturgell of West St. Paul and Ryan Kennedy of Hackensack. The YMCA dance leaders were also very energetic. They were Megan Narog of Fergus Falls, Alivia Garbe of Maplewood, Triston Garbe of Maplewood and Austin Eckhoff of Eden Prairie.
Thirteen resorts participated in the Resort Turtle Race. There were Broadwater Lodge, Sunset Bay Resort, Little Boy Resort, Trappers Landing Lodge, Evergreen Lodge, Maple Trails Resort, Pine Haven Resort, Pine Ridge Resort, Kee Nee Moo Sha Resort, Family Tradition Resort, Woman Lake Resort, Girl Lake Resort, and Minne Teepee Resort. The winner was seven-year-old Jordan Nord of Brooklyn Park who with her family was vacationing at Little Boy Resort.
Three appreciative young people won tickets to Mall of American events and Valleyfair. The tickets were provided by BL Broadcasting of Brainerd. They have four radio stations with their flagship station WJJY 106.7 FM. The Valleyfair ticket winners were twelve-year-old Marissa Daninger of Woodbury and ten-year-old Austin Castro of Rochester.The winner of the $200 package of tickets to events at the Mall of America was nine-year-old Riley Sundeen of Roseville.
The Chamber wishes to thank the many Longville area businesses that contributed prizes this summer for the racers and racing participants. The Chamber also wishes to express gratitude to the many volunteers that devoted their time and energy so that nearly 4000 racers and over, an estimated, 15,000 guests who came to Longville could have a wonderful afternoon of family fun each Wednesday this summer.
After a summer of racing, all the turtles headed for the closest hot tubs and beaches to soothe their tender feet and rest up for next summer.
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