New queen, hern named at DeSoto Ball

By VIN MANNIX

vmannix@bradenton.com

BRADENTON --

There was pomp. There was pageantry. There was pathos.

The 2008 DeSoto Ball on Friday night at the Bradenton Auditorium had it all.

A capacity audience was in attendance as Ashley Renee Sabourin and Whitney Michelle Whidden, both Palmetto High School graduates, were introduced as the DeSoto Historical Society's new queen and princess.

The new Hernando De Soto is Joe Miller and the new captain is Marke Burke.

Kari Marie Michaelsen, a Bradenton Christian School alum, received the society's Ambassador Award, while Rebekah Michelle Shuman, another Palmetto graduate, received the Friendship Award.

Miller was beaming as he was officially introduced to cheers of "Ole! Ole!" ringing throughout the auditorium.

"It's an honor and a privilege to be selected by your peers to represent the organization, your city and community as you travel visiting other festivals around the country," he said later.

That will involve from 15 to 20 trips over the next 12 months to events as near as Tampa and possibly as far as Winnipeg, Canada.

The new "hern" also acknowledged his captain, whom he selected along with the new crewe officers.

"Mark is the doer," Miller said. "He makes things happen, gets people organized and tells me where I need to be and what time I need to be there. The hern is the spokesman when we travel, promoting the organization and our beautiful city, but the captain is the man in charge."

Burke was ready for his new role.

"I'm thrilled," he said. "We're planning a lot of community and family events this year."

Like helping out at next Saturday's Braden River High School fundraiser with Rick Derringer's free concert for Lexi Antorino, the Palmetto toddler injured in a swing set accident in December.

The new DeSoto lieutenants for the 2008-2009 DeSoto crewe are Chris Atkinson and Rick Rupp.

The new padre is Paul Sharff.

The four new sergeants are Jamie Meade, Gary Scott, Dave Davis and Bill Campbell.

There were more dignitaries and crewes galore, as well, among 240 out-of-town guests for the weekend festivities.

Foremost were John DeSoto and son Daniel, descendants of Hernando de Soto, down from New York City.

There were also Maria-Natividad Flores Trejo and husband Miguel-Angel Vazquez Guzman representing Bradenton's sister city, Barcarotta, Spain.

Among the Florida crewes on hand were the Krewe of Lafitte from Pensacola, with president Butch Correll and wife Lola. It's their fifth visit to the DeSoto celebration.

"We've made a lot of friendships here and always have a good time," Correll said.

Ditto for Johnnie Jordan, the 37th Andrew Jackson - named for Florida's first territorial governor - from the Springtime Tallahassee crewe.

"One of the things that makes this event for us is when we started our festival 40 years ago, DeSoto helped us," said Jordan, who was accompanied by his wife, Barbie.

The most northern visitors for the DeSoto celebration were from the St. Paul Winter Carnival in Minnesota.

Escaping 40-degree weather and rain made the trip to Bradenton extra special.

"It's nice to be in some tropical heat," said Brook Stoeckel, Queen of Snows.

"This is a very good time," said Audra Weier, a.k.a. Klondike Kate. "They treat us well - and there's no snow!"

Vin Mannix local columnist, can be reached at 745-7055 or write him at the Bradenton Herald, Box 921, Bradenton, Fla. 34206.