Leadership - Bios

Board Members

Chairman

Dave Recker

Dave joined the AAO in 2013 as Commodore and served as President in 2014-2015 and 2018.  Dave finds supporting the development of young Minnesota women via AAO very rewarding, and  asks that you reach out to our fantastic and friendly hard working volunteers and get to know them.  

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Originally from a small, rural farming town, Dave enjoys meeting residents of the 60 communities that AAO visits.  Dave served on numerous non-profit boards including: Boy Scouts, Minneapolis Job Support Workshop, Veterans Job Support, and Jon Francis Foundation; he currently serves on the Anoka County Mediation and Restorative Services board.

Dave earned a construction engineering B.S. degree and a marketing MBA degree.  Dave has held management positions at several well- known MN firms, including: Onan Corporation, Toro Company, and Twin City Testing. He retired from Cummins, Inc. as global marketing director for power generation.  Dave also served 29 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Captain.

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Dave and Sharon have resided in Coon Rapids for 48 years and raised four sons.  They enjoy time with their 8 grandchildren. Dave is an avid alpine skier and road bicyclist.

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Commodore

Robert Schroeder

Minneapolis has been the heart and the hub of Robert Schroeder’s entire life. As a child, Robert’s playgrounds included Minnehaha Creek and the Falls, the Mississippi River bottoms below the Ford Dam, Fort Snelling and the Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport. Curiosity and a bit of fearlessness combined well for a life of adventure. He rode and raced motorcycles, and began flying airplanes and gliders at age 12. Robert flew solo before he got his driver’s license. 

At age 15 his sharp eyesight changed, disqualifying him from achieving his dream of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot; it was a huge disappointment and personal setback for him. Instead, by age 18, Robert was trained as an Air Force Crash Rescue Firefighter, sparking a lifelong career as a scientist and fire investigator. Schroeder has been in the “fire business” nearly 50 years; fighting fires, investigating fires and researching fire and materials. His work has taken him from Argentina to Alaska and points in between. A graduate of Oklahoma State University and the University of California, Berkeley, Dr Schroeder has multiple engineering and science-based degrees.

“Schroeder” as he is called by many, loved attending the Aquatennial Grand Day and Torchlight Parades. A chance encounter in the spring of 1974 lead to Schroeder’s first involvement with the Aquatennial. Harry Powers, one of the world-famous “Aqua Jesters,” detected a curiosity in Schroeder and invited him to take clown classes and audition for the Aqua Jesters. Schroeder participated in his first Aquatennial Grand Day and Torchlight Parades in 1974, creating joy and fun as an Aqua Jester character for the next three years. This experience taught Schroeder about the importance of volunteerism, community involvement, and reaching out to those in need. Schroeder is thrilled to return 45 years later as the Aquatennial Ambassador Organization's Commodore. 

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President

Bob Orthey

Bob was the 2015 AAO Commodore and served on the Board for several years after his year as Commodore. He more recently became active again by participating in the AAO Visionary Committee. After that experience, when asked to become the 2019/2020 President he jumped at the opportunity, believing strongly in the direction of AAO established by the Visionary Committee.
Bob was born and raised in Racine, WI. He graduated from DePauw University with a BA in Economics and The University of Notre Dame with a MBA. Bob and his wife Jody have been married for 52 years and have made Southwest Minneapolis their home for over 40 years. They have 3 children and 7 beautiful grandchildren.
Bob is currently happily retired. He spent over 45 years in both domestic and international sales and marketing positions for both large and small companies.

Board Member

Cindy Shanely

Cindy Shanley, former Mrs. Maplewood International, Saint Paul Winter Carnival North Wind Princess, Prime Minister to the 2006 Winter Carnival Royal Family, and the Minneapolis Aquatennial Senior Queen.  After a thirty-five year career at Northwest airlines as a flight attendant, instructor and manager, Cindy was the Saint Paul Winter Carnival Legend Director for the Saint Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, the Royalty Director for the Rice Street Festival, and a Co-Director of the West Saint Paul Royalty Ambassador Program, Special Events for the AAO Ambassador Organization, such as AAO Annual Meetings, Aquatennial/Winter Carnival Freindship brunch, AAO Celebration event, Hosting Visiting Dignitaries at the Aquatennial Parade and Board Member Liason for MASAA and the AAO. In Cindy’s free time she enjoys traveling around teaching etiquette, judging, spending time at their cabin with her grandchildren and traveling the world with her husband.  She has been married for 43 years to her husband Tim. They reside in Lake Elmo and have three grown children, six grandchildren and their dog Rolo.

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Board Member

Bruce Humphrys

Bruce Humphrys entered the Aquatennial world in 2012 as the Senior Commodore from the Minneapolis Aquatennial Senior Alumni Association (MASAA). Following his year-long engagement as an ambassador, he joined the leadership team as Vice President in 2014, serving two years. In 2019 he was encouraged to rejoin the AAO leadership team and has served since

November.  Following service with the US Air Force aboard Air Force One (Kennedy presidency) and another government branch, he entered the non-profit world in 1970. Bruce retired in 2008 from a 38-year career as Executive Director of several non-profit organizations in Minnesota. In addition, he served the Greater Twin Cities United Way developing a new division of Leadership

Giving in the Workplace – helping to raise $22 million. He was licensed by the US Coast Guard as “Master of Auxiliary Sailing Vessels” and led sailing charters in the Caribbean for several years. He currently serves on several non-profit boards and volunteers with Minnesota-based Wishes and More as a “Wish Wizard” – making dreams come true for kids with life threatening

diseases. Bruce and his wife, Carole (who is an active “behind the scenes” supporter of AAO), live in

Champlin.

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Board Member

Ken Hafton

Aquatenniel volunteer since 1972, Parade VC 1988, Mississippi River Showcase VC 1989, Skipper Pin VC 1990, General Festival Chair 1991, First Aquatennial Captain 1995, Aquatennial Historian at Hennepin History Museum, Resident of Blaine, University of Minnesota graduate and avid Gopher fan with Gopher Football and Hockey Season Tickets, hobbies include gardening in the summer and curling in the winter

If you’re have additional questions, please let me know 

Vice Commodores

Ambassadors

Rachel Huset

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Candidates

Maricia Pacheco

Maricia has been a member of the festival community since 2013 when she was a Farmington Ambassador Candidate.  Although not selected, she realized the positive growth that ambassador programs give to young women in the community and was determined to represent the town she loved.  In 2014 she was selected as Miss Farmington and later went on to represent Farmington as a Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Candidate where she was chosen to represent the AAO as the 2016 Queen of the Lakes.  

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The scholarships she received from both programs allowed her to continue her education at the University of Minnesota where she majored in Chemistry.  Maricia currently lives in Saint Paul and works as a chemist at Ecolab.  She spends her free time training for the marathons, volunteering for the Aquatennial Ambassador Organizations and she loves to cheer on the Minnesota Vikings. 

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Marketing

Kenny Devine

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Visiting Dignitaries

Quentin Moore

Quentin was Aquatennial Captain in 2018. He currently serves as the Director of Major Giving for the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. In early December him and his wife Janae became proud parents of a babygirl, Charlotte. He dedicates his free time serving on non-profit boards and committees throughout the Twin Cities. He loves learning about others, writing poetry, and spending time with his family. Quentin grew up in North Minneapolis and is an alum of DeLaSalle H.S. and the University of St. Thomas.​

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