Akey named Carnival Prime, Twete is Duchess
<p>Joey Akey is 2016 Whitefish Winter Carnival Prime Minister and Brenda Twete is Duchess of Lark.</p>
Whitefish Winter Carnival on Saturday revealed Joe Akey as the 2016 Prime Minister and Brenda Twete as Duchess of Lark.
Akey, was born to Lin and Kathy Akey in 1980 as the fourth generation of his family to call Whitefish home. He attended Whitefish schools and graduated from Whitefish High School in 1999. After high school he attended the University of Montana where he met and married his wife, Sarah.
Sarah’s teaching career took them to Ennis where Akey finalized his degree in business administration at the University of Montana Western. He spent the next four years as a loan officer at a bank in Ennis before he was afforded an opportunity to come home and work for Tim Murphy State Farm Insurance.
Akey is a former Treasurer of the Whitefish Chamber Board and currently serves on Whitefish High Schools Booster Club, Whitefish Lions Club, and is active with the Whitefish Youth Track program and the Watch D.O.G.S program at Muldown Elementary. He also volunteers his time as a coach for Little League Baseball and Flathead Valley football teams.
Akey and his wife have three children Ashton, 12, Cooper, 8, and Brynley,5 .
Twete is the daughter of Allen and Anita Simonsen of Billings. She grew up with her four brothers in Glasgow, Montana where she graduated from high school in 1988. She continued her education at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. There she met her husband Todd Twete. They married in 1991 and began their adventures living in Minneapolis. Todd’s professional pursuits relocated them to Reno, Nevada. In 1996 they welcomed twins McKinley and Peyton into the world.
In 2002, the Twete family spent their summer vacation in the Flathead Valley and fell in love with the area. Within a matter of months they moved to Whitefish. With the twins enrolled in kindergarten, Brenda embarked upon a career as a Realtor. She currently works for National Parks Realty. Daughter Peyton, who was Princess Freya in 2014, attends Carroll College. Son McKinley attends Flathead Valley Community College and works for Backcountry Woodworking. Husband Todd is vice president of sales for KADENCE, a software provider.
In their spare time, Brenda and her family enjoy all the wonderful activities the area provides, including skiing, hiking, golfing, and camping.