Vesterheim Museum Welcomes New Trustees from Barrington, Illinois

DECORAH, Iowa -Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Platou Ahlgren, Barrington, Illinois, is a new member to the board of trustees.

Two other new trustees join the board with Ahlgren-Dan Alsaker and Becky Hegstad. Vesterheim has a national board with 25 members from 10 states and the District of Columbia.

Elizabeth Platou Ahlgren is recently retired from British Airways as a Corporate Sales Manager. Ahlgren's parents were immigrants from Norway whose ancestors include an early Norwegian Prime Minister, one of the first female parliamentary representatives, and a seamstress who made bunads (traditional Norwegian clothing) for the Norwegian Royal family. She has volunteered as a board member of the Arthritis Foundation, the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, and Astrup Fearnley Museet U.S.

Dan Alsaker, Spokane Valley, Washington, is President of Alsaker Corporation. He has been a part of the company throughout his life, working at all levels from food server to manager to president. At present, the company operates travel plazas, quick service restaurant chains, family restaurants, casinos, and hotels. He supervises the corporate office team and nearly 400 employees over four states. He has served as a board member for many organizations, including Pacific Lutheran University, University of Idaho Foundation, Norwegian-American Foundation, Spokane Valley Chamber, NATSO, and Restaurant Association of the State of Washington.

Becky Hegstad, Stillwater, Minnesota, is the Dean of Language Discovery Programs at Concordia Language Villages in the Twin Cities. She has a B.A. in Scandinavian Studies and Elementary Education from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and was a Norwegian instructor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. She has also worked as a program specialist for Sons of Norway and as a consultant for Global Kidz in Denver, Colorado.

Through 33,000 objects and 12 historic buildings, Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center in Decorah, Iowa, shares the most comprehensive collection of Norwegian-American artifacts in the world. This treasure is also a center for folk-art education, offering a wide variety of classes in authentic Norwegian folk art every year. For more information on the museum's exhibitions, classes, events, membership opportunities, and ways to donate, check Vesterheim's website at vesterheim.org, call (563) 382-9681, or write to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, 502 W. Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA, 52101-0379.