Officers

President	1st VP	2nd VP	Treas	Sec'y	Legal Counsel
K. Olterman	J. Bender	G. Lane	M. Engel	S. Mohandiss	T. Rosseland

Directors and Assistant Directors

ASFS	Danish Ladies	Icelandic	Norewegian Ladies	SAFG
A. Hänninen	K. Muhlhausen	E. Griffin	T. Caruso	J. Woodyard
M. Welti	B. Bindeman	T. Griffin	E. Røed	M. Martin

SACC	SWEA	VASA	Viking Club
H. Söderstrom	S. Nilson	G. Rygert	S. Taylor
H. Sjölund		D. Carlson	J. Leonard

Finland was the featured country and their area was setup with 18 large posters, each with a picture and a short description of various aspects of the Finnish lifestyle. A 6 x 6 feet sauna was another feature of the Finland area. The first 5K run and 1K Troll Tromp took place on Saturday morning before the Festival doors opened. The weather was terrible with heavy rains and there were only 40 runners. A 30 x 40 feet tent was set up on the patio mainly for the race but it was also used for some outdoor entertainment on both days.

Again the suggestion to seek another venue for the Festival was considered but no suitable location was found. Restrictions on food and beer sales and the high rental costs were the main deterrents. The idea of having the Festival on alternating years was reviewed but it was not found to be practical. Moving the Festival to the Fall was suggested but the Cobb Civic Center has no open weekends in the Fall.

The timing of the Board meetings was again set to start at 7:00 pm but the target to finish at 9:00 pm was added. Assistant Directors were encouraged to attend the Board meetings. In prior years they were not to attend unless the Director was absent.

The price of the exhibitor booths was increased by $20.00. The local Estonians had contacted us and the decision was made to have them as part of the Cultural area. They provided a colorful display and costumes that were admired by all.

Karla Olterman provided the impetus for the publication of the first Festival newsletter, The Northern Light, which was distributed in the Fall of 2001. B. J. Schuler agreed to run the bakery as a subcontracted entity. Winnie Goodman took on the chair of the Country Store.

It was decided to eliminate the paid administrative assistant and use volunteers. While the Board meetings continued to be held at the Lutheran Church of the Apostles, the officers meetings were rotated among the homes of the officers.

There were many requests to improve the sound system during the Festival and a new supplier, George Nikas, was selected. The first President’s Volunteer Award was presented to Ed. From.

Karla Olterman sent a “request for volunteers” letter to all the members of the nine member organizations except SWEA. The opening hours on Saturday were extended to 9:00 pm. By the January Board meeting all the exhibitor booths had been sold. This was a first.

The investment funds had given up all the profit by the beginning of 2002 due to the market downturn. Karla Olterman again led the raffle and acquired gifts with a retail prices exceeding $13,000, the most ever. At the February, 2002 board meeting Mikala Engel was elected to fill the Treasurer’s position when Jan Rygert resigned. Jan continued to do a good job with publicity.

The video room was used for an exhibit “Scandinavian Roots – American Lives” and for a genealogy activity. Gene Estensen provided the expertise to assist people with inquiries, using the computers supplied by Tom Griffin and set up by George Lane.

The pallets stored at DFDS (Dan Transport) were delivered to the Cobb Civic Center on Thursday before the Festival. This avoided the delays experienced in previous years when the pallets were delivered on Friday, the set-up day.

Attendance was 2300 and the financial results showed a break-even situation. The program book increased to 36 pages.

Bob Reed was the MC on Sat. and Paul Spitzer and Jim Goodman on Sun. The patio MCs were Jan Rygert and Mary Lou Seltzer. The returning entertainment included:

Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Raleigh
Scandinavian Festival Choir
Georgia Brass Band
Jam Session
The new entertainment was:

Dickerson Middle School Jazz Band
Bosse Österberg, a Finnish singer
Alexander Tsygankov and Inna Shevchenko on the domra and piano
Ed Hendela, a Finnish accordionist from Connecticut
Art Autio, a Finnish singer from Florida
Elizabeth Williams, a professional dance instructor
Kuutti Family strings from Georgia
Anna Vilpo, a Finnish soprano who performed Lucia in the opening ceremonies
Gordon Vernick on the trumpet
Bob Lewis on the trombone
Rita Graham, singer
Andrew Fazackerley, jazz pianist
Greg Colson, concert pianist
Atlanta Balalaika Society Orchestra

For the first time, some musical entertainment was provided on the patio outside of the building entrance. A Lucia ceremony was performed during the opening ceremonies. A closing ceremony on Sunday evening with a transfer of flags was initiated.

The volunteer party was held on June 1, 2002 at Ed From’s sub-division clubhouse and it was preceded by a critique meeting.