Googey's out, Betsy Fogle is in: Captain Springfield winners gather to transfer the cape

When current and former winners of Captain Springfield get together, one topic is always front and center: How great it is to live in Springfield.

While no one is under the assumption that it's perfect, each of the past winners has spent most or all of their life in the community for which the contest is named.

"I want to encourage people to fall in love with Springfield," said Betsy Fogle, the most recent winner and current Captain Springfield. "I was born and raised here, and there's nowhere else I'd want to live."

Fogle took possession of the cape Wednesday as former members joined her at Tie & Timber Beer Co., a popular gathering spot in the district she represents in Missouri's House of Representatives.

She was chosen by readers in August as the ninth captain, an experience she said she enjoyed. It was especially fun to compete against Brandi VanAntwerp, her boss in the nonprofit sector.

"It was a great opportunity to talk about all the great things United Way of the Ozarks does," Fogle said.

This year's handoff of the cape came from Googey, the Bookmarx cat , and his human, Josh Arnett.

"It's fun to follow Googey," Fogle said. "It just shows that Springfield likes to have fun."

Arnett, speaking on behalf of Captain No. 8, said they were able to organize several fundraisers in the past year, including those that supported animal rescues and literacy, two things near and dear to their hearts.

Arnett said he was surprised how many people came into the bookstore at least partially to see Googey.

"People would come in from all over to see him," he said. "They would say, 'I'm actually from Kansas City, but I voted for Googey, so I wanted to see him.'"

While the year has been fun, Arnett said Googey is happy to hand off his duties as Captain Springfield. The bookstore cat might look good in his tiny cape, but he doesn't exactly love wearing it.

"He hates it," Arnett said. "But he doesn't hate it more than any other costume he wears."

Like previous Captains Springfield, Fogle hopes to spread the good word about Springfield in her year with the cape. The winner also takes control of affiliated social media accounts.

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She said it's an honor to join a group of past winners who have cared so much about the Queen City.

"These people have given so much of their time to making Springfield better," she said.

Other past winners in attendance Wednesday included Matt Simpson, Janelle Mitchell (Reed), Michael Underlin and Rebecca Weber. Former winners also include Crystal Quade, Brandy Harris and Patrick Nett.

The Captain Springfield contest occurs annually, usually around the beginning of August, during a week in which readers nominate and then vote for people they believe make good representatives of Springfield.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Googey's out, Betsy Fogle is in: Captain Springfield winners gather to transfer the cape