Second time’s the charm for Abby Hoglin.
Last year, the Lakeville woman first ran for the role of Aurora, Queen of the Snows of the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
She didn’t win, but she learned a lot.
This year, she ran again — and won.
Hoglin realized her dream Friday night, when the outgoing 2013 queen, Melissa Hoffbeck, placed the tiara upon her head.
“It was a moment of disbelief,” said Hoglin, 27, during an interview at the St. Paul Hotel on Saturday before she headed into a breakfast with visiting royal dignitaries hailing from Florida to Canada.
Hoglin, who is sponsored by Ideal Printers, is not the first candidate who has run more than once — many hopefuls repeat their quest over the years. Gretchen Spier of South St. Paul tried out four times in 14 years before being crowned in 2010 at age 33.
But Hoglin is one of just a handful of married women to serve as St. Paul’s queen.
The carnival’s very first queen, in 1886, was married — she was either “Mrs. Albert Scheffer” or “Mrs. L.L.C. Brooks”; sources differ.
The next married queen was crowned more than 100 years later: Maureen Damman, a 37-year-old wife and mother from Arden Hills, was named queen in 1996, five years after the carnival ended its no-marriage policy for queen candidates.
Five years later, Misty Engler of St. Paul was married during her reign as the 2001 queen.
The last married queen was Spier in 2010.
Mitch Hoglin is proud of his wife — and also pleased at what her new role means for him.
“I am so excited,” said the 27-year-old spouse to the queen. “I think I’m called Lord Mitch now.”
The selection committee — made up of five members — saw the winning candidate evolve from 2013 to 2014.
“It wasn’t just that she had done this before,” said Melissa Moser, one of the committee members. “She grew into herself — that confidence, which we saw glimpses of last year, it just shined through this year.
“Honestly, and I mean this with all my heart, the word the selection committee kept using to describe her was ‘regal,’ ” Moser said. “She has the biggest heart. She cares about everyone. She is just the kindest, most genuine person I’ve met in a very long time. You can see it in the way she gets down to interact with the kids, how she cares about the other candidates, the way she greets residents at a nursing home. She told us, ‘I just want to be a daymaker.’ Her focus is not on herself; it’s about living in the moment and embracing the role.
“I hope people will see what we saw in her,” Moser said. “We want someone who can represent the women of St. Paul well, who can speak to groups both large and small, a professional who can be a leader.”
The four princesses who also were crowned Friday are just as crucial to the royal family as the queen is, Moser said.
“We really do approach it as a group of five women, versus one queen and four princesses,” Moser said. “And we have five wonderful ladies.”
This year, the North Wind Princess is Elizabeth “Lyz” Carlson, 25, of Maplewood, sponsored by Kane’s Catering; the East Wind Princess is Christine Schrader, 33, of Lakeville, sponsored by Power Systems Research; the West Wind Princess is Abby Massee, 23, of Savage, sponsored by Hamernick’s Decorating; and the South Wind Princess is Ashley Galloway, 24, of Vadnais Heights, sponsored by Jimmy’s Food and Drink.
Like Hoglin, Carlson and Schrader also ran last year. The trio became close at that time, the queen’s husband said.
“She didn’t seem disappointed last year,” he said, “because she gained two lifelong friends out of the process.”
The new queen — whose maiden name is Brogger — grew up in Northfield, graduated from high school there in 2005 and is still active in the community’s Defeat of Jesse James Days.
She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she earned a bachelor of arts in communication studies, with a minor in technical communication. She is active in the Kappa Kappa Gamma Twin Cities Alumnae Association.
Hoglin is a manager at the St. Paul-based StayWell Health Management, where she helps clients implement employer health-and-wellness programs.
Hoglin and her husband, who works at Wells Fargo, met while working at Applebee’s in Burnsville during college and were married in 2009. The Hoglins built a house in Lakeville and share it with Mitch’s father, a widower. The family of three has three dogs and three cats.
Hoglin has built her life around helping and serving others, whether it’s choosing to adopt rescued animals or volunteering in her community, which is why she decided to get involved with the St. Paul Winter Carnival — a festival rooted in volunteerism.
“It was instilled in me from an early age that, if you are able to give back to others, you should,” Hoglin said.
Molly Guthrey can be reached at 651-228-5505.
Copyright 2014 Pioneer Press.
