It should come as little surprise that four of the names of nominees for the 2026 Oakdale Chamber Citizen of the Year also happen to be members of the committee that worked to bring the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink to fruition.

Thanks to the vision, dedication and funds raised by Cher Bairos, Gretchen Haidlen Arbini, Ami Poncabare, Danielle Sanders, Mindy Johnson VanTil, Bri Swan and Lindsey Holmes, residents of Oakdale and the surrounding area were treated to a magical Christmas season.

Yet this committee, most especially visionary Poncabare, will be the first to tell you it was because of the community that the ice rink was more than a hit, it left a lasting impression.

“It has never been about who organized the rink or whose vision brought it to life, because what it represents is far bigger than anyone of us,” Poncabare shared. “From the beginning the focus had been on creating something meaningful for our community. A reason to celebrate our town, inspire joy and give children an experience that could become a cherished, lifelong, memory.”

Many throughout the community as well as neighboring ones would say: mission accomplished. It is estimated that the rink brought 20,000 people to Oakdale during its operation from Dec. 3, 2025 to Jan. 3, 2026.

“Our goal was always to bring in close to 20,000 people to our community and that easily happened,” Poncabare said.

“To create an environment that people just wanted to be there to experience it, whether they were skating or not,” VanTil added of the large draw to the community.

The committee members noted while the ice could only accommodate so many per session, the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink hosted many families and visitors, with just as many or more watching the skaters as those taking the ice themselves.

Now with the rink nearly two months behind us, the common question throughout the community is – will it return? Is this something Oakdale can look forward to year after year like Cowboy Santa?

“I wish we could all say today,” Poncabare responded to the probing question. “The desire and the goal has always been it will come back annually, but there’s parts that have to happen ahead of us saying yes it’s gonna happen.”

The committee member further stated in the name of being a good partner, the committee still must talk to the city and various sponsors before that can be confirmed.

“That property is not Small Town Christmas property,” she continued. “We need to go through the process like everybody else to get permitted and all the different things. It’s fair to say, we made enough (money) for where we need to go for year number two.”

There are other moving parts, however, such as sponsors Gilton and DA Wood.

“We need ‘em,” Bairos interjected of two of the many instrumental In Kind Sponsors who helped with the nuts and bolts of bringing the rink to life.

“We made enough assets for year number two,” Poncabare said.

“Providing we get the partnerships with the main guys,” Bairos added regarding year two.

“The city’s first and foremost,” Poncabare acknowledged.

Both Bairos and Poncabare shared their deepest gratitude to the numerous In-Kind Sponsors that stepped up and made costly services a possibility.

Bairos noted the Giltons as one of her first stops in asking for help. The company generously provided trash cans, tents for the sitting area and surrounding area of the rink, as well as the generators and fuel to keep the rink powered and the ice frozen.

Poncabare shared it has always been her vision that the rink could become another of Oakdale’s Christmas traditions. The goal being that after the third year, enough reserve will be made for the event to be self-sustaining.

“It’s moot to talk about what was brought in, when you don’t have an understanding of what it takes,” VanTil said of the total raised in the rink’s first year. “Everything that we got ‘In Kind” donation, we have to prepare to not have that In Kind in following years. The whole concept was that it’s sustainable. You can’t count on somebody donating $75,000 of In-Kind donations year after year.”

Of the many In Kind donors which along with the sponsorships made the vision come to life, the committee shared their gratitude for each and every one.

From RFC and DA Wood Construction helping create the level ice rink to Rodin Farms Fruit Stand donating all the Christmas trees. SONS Farm Fresh, built and donated each of the picnic tables. The Stueve family donated a classic red sleigh decorated to perfection and used for countless photo ops. Howdy Honey graciously donated their trailer, which was utilized for the ticket booth and Dark Horse Rental provided the porta potties and fencing around the rink.

“And then there was Rudy. We can’t miss Rudy,” Bairos said of Rudy Castano.

An employee of American Chiller Services, the team shared one day he showed up and he was there every day after doing whatever was needed to keep things running smoothly.

“He did everything. That man is worth his weight in gold,” Bairos stated.

“He wants to be a part of it for 2026 and other years too,” Poncabare said of Castano. “He was very committed to what we started and he’s been very complimentary of this group.”

The compliments Poncabare speaks of were from the daily operations to the overall Winter Wonderland created by the team.

“Visionary, that was the goal,” VanTil said of the Hallmark movie setting created for the rink. “When we talked to Gretchen, she said her mom loved Hallmark movies and she loved going ice skating. So from day one, that was the goal to create that type of environment.”

That shared vision by Arbini along with the talents and dedication of the committee created what the community likened to a Hallmark movie as well as “magical” again and again.

“Gretchen and I were there daily, multiple times a day,” Sanders said during the build. “Without Gretchen it wouldn’t have probably been.”

“Her background really brought into this is how the layout should be. From renderings to implementation, definitely,” Poncabare echoed of Arbini’s talent.

And then again, the additional help of In-Kind donor JCD Studios served as the cherry on the top as business owners Jessica and Matt Barnes offered the larger decorations which filled the inside of the rink.

“What was lovely about it was it was all things that they hadn’t used. They’d already done staging and this was the stuff they had not used,” VanTil shared. “So they just donated it.”

“They sent their people to install it,” Sanders added of their generosity.

Then there were the over 250 volunteers that staffed the ticket booth, rink, surrounding area and skate shack that made it all possible come go time. A dedicated group which the committee honored with a special volunteer skate night at the end of the season.

“There were so many young people that came to volunteer and I think that right there instills in our community the importance of community. I asked to speak that night,” Poncabare said, about volunteer night, tearing up. “For me, volunteering is something we all have in our blood. That doesn’t happen for everybody in our community, which I think is unfortunate because you get back so much more than you give. There were a lot of nights when I was out there, when I had moments with kids or moments with moms, I’m just a Christmas fan at heart.”

Poncabare continued “When you’re watching Hallmark movies, there’s always an ice skating rink. So I thought we can do that, why can’t we do that. That gave me so much joy but really it comes down to seeing the kids. You know they went to bed that night and that’s engrained in their memory that they’ll take with them for a lifetime. Maybe that was the worst day they had that day and they came to the rink and that changed.”

The committee members each echoed Poncabare’s sentiments toward volunteering as well as the joy gained from the young skaters.

“I enjoyed it a lot,” Sanders said of giving her time to the inaugural event. “It was a good time, but it also brought closer friendships, community involvement, it was just great. To stand in the corner and watch everybody enjoy, what we had our hand in … nothing better. Just to have that response, that’s what it’s all about.”