53rd annual

Weekly update #327 4/26/2026 to 5/2/2026

Five months from now, the 53rd annual Seymour Oktoberfest will be on its last day. Before I explore this thought more though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.

This week, I had a couple of chances to visit with my friends with physical and intellectual disabilities. The first was helping with Unified Track at Seymour High School. A Unified Track meet has two field events and three track events. Smiles were had by many, from athletes to volunteers alike. My second stop was at the Special Olympics young athletes event, where I got to watch the awards being presented and enjoy the smiles and laughs again as they did an obstacle course before having some pizza. Thank you to everyone involved with both events and both organizations for all you do. If you are a business owner or just a good-hearted community member and would like to help sponsor either group, please let me know, and I can get you in touch with the proper person. 

For a day and a half this week, I had a chance to hear from Indiana mayors and guest panelists on topics from personal safety to road funding and so much more. Last year, I received my Gold certificate, and after this week, I am halfway to becoming an Indiana City Leadership Executive. Having been a part of presentations at the Mayor’s Institute, statewide Accelerate Indiana Municipalities events, and even nationwide events, I have completed all but one of the requirements already. This week, as has happened at every Mayor’s Institute, I walked away with a list of thoughts to explore, one of which is already in the process of being rolled out and will make it easier for parks visitors to share a concern from their phone while in the park. Thank you to all the presenters for a good event. I appreciate the chance to hear your successes and see what grows out of them for the residents of Seymour. 

Thank you to the committee that worked on the Crossroads of Culture event. Just in the special performances, you had a ton of excitement, then throw in the 20 or so booths, and it was a good time. The dancers, drummers, bagpipes, and so much more made for fun, exciting events for all who visited. 

Last year, for the 52nd annual Seymour Oktoberfest, I had 100 custom hat pins made to give away. The design was inspired by a comment made during class at IU Bloomington, where a student said, “Oktoberfest is like the Super Bowl for Seymour.” When the professor shared that with me during a meeting, I decided to utilize the thought and came up with a design using Roman numerals. It was getting close to fest time when I heard this last year, and the pins came in just in time. This year, I had a little more time to plan, and they arrived yesterday. They are inspired by my favorite Oktoberfest event and are numbered on the back for Seymour Oktoberfest LIII. If you see me during the fest this year and you have a German hat, don’t forget to ask for one of the 100 custom pins. I am glad I chose to rush the process last year and just do it because now we are on year two of a fun little tradition. Carrie Underwood said, "Throw caution to the wind and just do it."