Hillary Crowley was crowned Duchess of Lark and Eric Schmit was named as Prime Minister on Saturday at the Merry Maker event, officially kicking of the 2025 Whitefish Winter Carnival. 

Crowley was born in the mountains of Colorado, back when family-owned businesses thrived, and the streets were a merry romp of ski bums, dogs and kids. After graduating from high school, she pursued her passion for design at the Rhode Island School of Design. 

She then followed her big-city dreams to Boston and New York and worked in web development. Craving a life by water, Crowley moved to Naples, Florida, where she soaked up sun, fell in love with conch fritters and served as Lead Design Engineer for a public engagement startup.  

In 2001, a trip into Glacier’s backcountry called Crowley home to the mountains. Over the years, she has had the honor of getting to know the heart of the community, serving alongside incredible volunteers as a Big Mountain Ambassador, an EMT and tracker with Flathead County Search and Rescue, a board member of the Whitefish Theatre Company, Advancement Chair for Kalispell Boy Scout Troop 1933, and a Whitefish Chamber Ambassador. Together with her husband, Jay, Crowley was honored as the Whitefish Chamber's 2024 Volunteer of the Year. 

For the past four years, she has delighted in coordinating The Great Whitefish Gingerbread Contest, a fundraiser benefiting affordable workforce housing. A firm believer in the magic of the Whitefish Winter Carnival, Hillary’s love for this cherished tradition runs deep. She has treasured her time in various roles. She served as chair of the gala and disco party and protected the realm’s citizens as a Viking Diva. For the past two decades, Hillary has applied her design skills to all things Carnival and in 2016, she was honored as a High Ullr.  

Eric Schmidt is a proud fifth-generation Montanan. His father’s family homesteaded in Whitefish and his mother’s family in Columbia Falls, over 100 years ago. After graduating from Whitefish High School in 2004, he attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where he focused on finance and accounting. After a complication with surgery shortly after college graduation from donating a kidney to his younger cousin, Schmidt decided life was too short to jump into an 8-5.  

That decision ultimately landed him back in Whitefish where he would continue to serve tables at the Whitefish Lake Golf Club Restaurant to save up enough money to travel around the world for the next three years in the off seasons. Once he aged out of being covered by his parent’s health insurance, Schmidt decided it was time to jump into a career.  

After a short stint as Deputy Clerk of District Court for Flathead County, Schmidt took an opportunity at First Interstate Bank in Whitefish as a personal banker. He worked his way up in the bank through various positions, ultimately leading to his current position as the Bank President of First Interstate Bank Whitefish.  

His commitment to community service is evident in his active involvement with various nonprofit organizations, including the North Valley Music School Board of Directors, Logan Health Foundation Board of Directors, Whitefish Legacy Partners Hootenanny Committee, and the Whitefish Winter Carnival Board of Directors. As chair of the Penguin Plunge for the Carnival and for the Special Olympics of Montana, Schmidt has assisted in raising over $1 million for the cause within the Flathead. He plans to increase that total significantly by jumping with the entire Whitefish Winter Carnival LXVI Royalty in 2025.  

In 2023, Schmidt was awarded the prestigious High Ullr award during the Whitefish Winter Carnival, a testament to his dedication to the community. February 2024 marked another milestone for Schmidt and his better half with the arrival of the sixth generation Schmidt to Whitefish.  

Schmidt said he couldn’t be happier to serve with Crowley and looks forward to continuing one of the longest standing traditions that keeps Whitefish one of the greatest places to live. 

Crowley said she is filled with joy and gratitude to serve alongside Prime Minister LXVI Schmidt as this year’s Duchess of Lark to King Ullr LXVI and his Queen of the Snows. She looks forward to celebrating the season with her husband, her son Alex, and the community she adores—because there truly is "snow" place like home!