Carnival Royalty

Rick Donahue is King Ullr L for the 2009 Whitefish Winter Carnival. With family roots tracing back to 1913 and the Great Northern Railway, Donahue grew up sledding the hills surrounding City Beach, skiing at Little Mountain and spending days at the Whitefish Lake Golf Club. After graduating from Whitefish High School in 1973, Donahue became a two-sport letterman at the University of Montana. He became a golf professional in 1978 and was instrumental in starting the junior golf program in Whitefish. Donahue competed professionally in 13 countries, including the 1981 South American Tour and the 1980 British Open. Donahue has been involved in the Winter Carnival for decades in many capacities — three decades on the board of directors, 24 years as a member of the royal court, with appearances as Prince Frey, Prime Minister and 22 years as Herald the Hark the royal trumpeter. Having served 24 kings, Donahue’s dedication is endless, and his travels representing Whitefish have earned him special recognition at festivals around the Pacific Northwest. He has also assisted in fundraising for the American Cancer Society, Big Brothers and Sisters, the Red Cross, the Special Olympics and, of course, the Winter Carnival.

Rochelle “Bee” Bickel is the 2009 Queen of the Snows. A Whitefish native, Bickel attended the very first Whitefish Winter Carnival and was a Winter Carnival Princess in 1972. Most recently, she has spread Carnival cheer and goodwill as one of the original Viking Divas. One of her follies includes having broken her ankle while selling Winter Carnival buttons from the famed Button Bus. She was delivered to the hospital by a friend and eventually home by none other than an unusually kind Yeti. A graduate of Whitefish High School, Bickel left the Flathead Valley for a bit of travel sponsored by the U.S. military and returned home in 1992. Since then, she has participated as a charter member of the Whitefish Ambassadors, now known as the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. In 2008, she was named the first Ambassador of the Year. Other volunteer activities have included Relay for Life, Climb the Mountain, and The Taste of Whitefish. She’s a member of the Women in Black adventure group, Kiwanis, Women of Whitefish and the Whitefish Winter Carnival Board.

Rachel Riel and Jack Hyer, juniors at Whitefish High School, were crowned Princess Freya and Prince Frey during the Jan. 15 basketball game. Here they posed at the Jan. 17 coronation.