The Festmaster heads the Oktoberfest Royal Family and is chosen annually by the Board of Trustees.  The Board of Trustees, consisting of the present and all past Festmasters, elects a chairman from its members.  The Board of Trustees Chairman, along with the past year's Festmaster, mentors the new Festmaster, bringing him up to speed on his duties, expectations, and appearances.

The selection of the Festmaster is one of the oldest and most cherished Fest traditions.  The selection process and naming of the new Festmaster is very secret and the mystery only adds to the fun!

The Festmaster's Ball is where our new Festmaster for the year is announced and is held every year on the opening Friday of Fest.

Congratulations to our 2011-12 Festmaster, Jerry Kember and Frau Nan!

Jerry Kember started his career in education in 1970 and since that time has taught music to elementary, middle, and high school students. He came to La Crosse in 1989 as the Fine Arts Supervisor for the School District of La Crosse and in 1998 became the Associate Superintendent of Instruction. In 2003 he was named Superintendent of Schools and this past June retired from that position.

Jerry has 11 years experience as a music educator and another 25 years in public school administration. He is President-elect of the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music, Past-president of the Wisconsin Music Educators Association, Past-president of the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) and was appointed by two previous governors to serve on the Wisconsin Arts Board. In 1998 he was named Wisconsin Educational Services Administrator of the Year and in 2010 he was recognized as Wisconsin’s Superintendent of the Year. This past spring he was presented the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce’s Community Service Award.

He has been very active in the La Crosse community serving on the boards of numerous organizations including the La Crosse Public Education Foundation, the United Way, the American Red Crosse, the Health Science Consortium, the La Crosse Public Library and the La Crosse Chamber Chorale. He is also on the Board of Advisors for Viterbo University and serves on their Ethics Committee. Jerry is an active member of the Downtown Rotary Club where he chairs their Youth Committee. In 2007 he worked with the La Crosse Public Education Foundation to create a special family event to celebrate the New Year called the Big Family New Years Eve which has attracted thousands from the Coulee Region over the last 4 years.

Jerry and his wife, Nan, have been married for 31 years. Nan is also an educator who recently retired as a reading specialist at Irving Pertsch Elementary School in Onalaska. They have 3 children: a son, Jamie and twin daughters, Kelsey and Jessie. Jamie works for the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music, teaches at Madison Area Technical College, and has his own 9 piece band that performs professionally. Jessie has a degree in psychology from UW-Madison and currently works for Americorps in a Madison elementary school. Kelsey, also a graduate of UW-Madison, just began her first year as a math teacher at Middleton High School.

Enjoying Oktoberfest events has been an annual family tradition for the Kembers since they came to La Crosse 23 years ago. This Oktoberfest will certainly be a special one for them to remember.

* Fondly remembered.