Ved årets Borgmesterfrokost blev der, som traditionen byder, udnævnt en borgmester for en dag.

I år blev det Connie Hanson fra Glendora i Californien

Læs mere om hende HER

Til Borgmesterfrokosten i år, var der, som altid, nogle få taler. Vi der deltog i arrangementet er enige om, at der specielt var en tale der trådte frem som bemærkelsesværdig, uden dermed at sige, at de andre taler ikke var gode. Men denne tale synes vi, at i alle skal have fornøjelsen af at læse.

Det var “Talen for Amerika” med Morten Wendelbo. Morten har været bosat i USA i en del år og har blandt andet en Bachelors Degree i Political Science, en Master Degree i Public Policy og er Research Fellow ved The American University. Han har optrådt som politisk ekspert på både DR og TV2.

Og så var det for øvrigt Morten der sidste efterår satte os grundig ind i det Amerikansk valgsystem ved et arrangement på “Gassen”.

Good afternoon, everyone. Or, as I much prefer: Good afternoon, y’all.

I grew up not far from here, in a small village called Birkelse, near Aabybro. My mom was a primary school teacher there for nearly 40 years, and my dad worked at Nordkraft—back when it was a power plant, and not yet one of the best cultural institutions in Denmark. My parents still live in the house I grew up in.
I went to school just up the road at Skipper Clement Skolen, and then on to Nørresundby Gymnasium. In other words, I’m a local kid. As one Dane I recently met in Copenhagen declared after hearing me speak maybe four words in Danish: “Du er da vist nok Nordjyde!” And yes, that I am. Proudly.
Through some unexpected twists and turns in my life, I am also American. In my first year at Nørresundby Gymnasium, I won a scholarship to a school in Costa Rica. That opportunity led to me being recruited by many colleges in the United States and so at 19, I moved to the US. I spent 14 years in the U.S.—continuing on to graduate school and then to work in Washington, D.C., before returning to Denmark two years ago.

I am honored that Dansk-Amerikansk Klub has asked me to give the speech for America today. The club, with its 100+ year history, is the embodiment of something most of us know to be true deep in our bones:
Denmark and the United States are better together.
When we collaborate, we are better in business. We are better in defense.
Our communities are forever improved when we share our science, our innovation, and our culture.
This club was founded, in part, to foster this relationship, and I, for one, am grateful for the work that so many members have poured into the club in the 103 years since its founding.

I have gone back and forth on how to approach this speech—because what exactly does it mean to give a speech for America – particularly given recent events?
The first half of my life, America was an incredible and romanticized IDEA. America was the gold standard in TV, movies, computer games, and magazines. When America was described, it was usually with awe and fascination. In America, everything is bigger, cooler, and more glamorous.
America is a land of extremes. It’s skyscrapers and dirt roads. It’s fast-talking New York Bankers and farmers with a southern drawl. It’s lifted pickup trucks and electric scooters. It’s NASCAR on Sunday and televangelists for insomniacs. It’s Super Walmart, drive-thru everything, and pumpkin spice season starting in August. To me, America was the figurative promised land—a melting pot of immigrants that contribute world-class talent to create a multicultural kaleidoscope.
And all of this was underpinned by the American Dream – that pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, sky-is-the-limit kind of freedom that is anyone’s for the taking if you’re just willing to put in the hard work.
Like three hundred thousand Danes before me, I made my way to the United States—and I thought I had it “made in the shade.” I was ready to seize opportunity and chase the American Dream.
And I did live the American Dream. From inside the proverbially gilded walls of one of America’s prestigious universities, I thrived. I developed my research skills, made invaluable connections, and studied abroad on two other continents. I had access to cutting edge treatments when I got cancer, and I had no fear of the future because I had what felt like unlimited access to opportunity.

It took me far too long to realize that the American Dream I was living was, in fact, denied to tens of millions of others who weren’t set up for success the way I was. Of course, wild success IS possible in the US. But for tens of millions of Americans, even modest comfort is unlikely, much less wild success. A fact we often forget to acknowledge when we’re touting the American Dream.
Poverty in America is real, and determination and hard work alone isn’t lifting people out of it. Most Americans who live in poverty do so despite determination and hard work—far harder work than I ever put in.
The late Barbara Ehrenreich once wrote something that helped me understand why the dream I was living was a nightmare for so many others. “The American Dream,” Barbara said, “only applies if you’re already halfway there.”
That is, hard work only leads to success when you’re already financially stable, already have a good education, a social network that connects you to opportunities, a reliable income, healthcare, and access to credit—among many other things.
What I have come to realize is that I got to live the American Dream because, when I arrived, I was already halfway there. Denmark, Aalborg, Jammerbugt, Skipper Clement Skolen, Nørresundby Gymnasium are all among the reasons I was already halfway there. Parents, teachers, family, and friends who didn’t have to worry about their own future or about making ends meet had time, patience, and the skills to help shape me into someone who was already halfway there when I arrived. I am not the one who put in the hard work to get me the first half of the way. My community did that work.

I’ll be honest—I took what Aalborg and Denmark gave me for granted. Because I could… and because it simply didn’t occur to me that it could be any other way.

So let me take this moment to say thank you to everyone here. Whether you’re a nurse, a teacher, a diplomat, a titan of industry, a volunteer football coach, the mayor, or something else entirely—the work you put into your community every day is a big part of why most Danes never have to worry about whether they’ll make it the first half way there.

Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten that this is a speech for America. Or—if I may spin it just for today—a speech for Americans. Away from the grand IDEA of America, and toward the reality of its people.
Because while many Americans cannot take for granted that they’ll get halfway there in time, tens of millions still do the quiet, relentless work to make sure their children can. They help children in their neighborhoods and in their communities get the first half of the way there. Parents, grandparents, neighbors sacrifice daily so that someone else might have a better shot. They work so hard to create the kind of community I came to take for granted here.
They drive trucks through the night. They stock shelves while the rest of us sleep. They pick lettuce in 40-degree heat. They clean hotel rooms, care for the elderly, deliver takeout, and dozens of other jobs that are rarely noticed or appreciated. Some work three jobs just to keep the lights on because they believe—quietly and stubbornly—that their children and their community deserve a shot. That if they can carry the weight just a little longer, the next generation might stand a little taller.

America’s greatness shouldn’t be measured by the successful outliers, but by a community that works relentlessly to get everyone – their kids, their neighbors and sometimes people they’ll never meet – the first half of the way there.
So, this speech is for the Americans who show up for each other. For those Americans who carry far more than their share.
They don’t have to—but they still do.
And that, more than anything else, makes me believe that despite the world we live in today, there is still a real chance that Americans—all Americans, no matter their race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender, or disability; no matter what state they’re born in or what tax bracket their parents belong to— that all Americans will one day get to trust that they’ll make it halfway there…in time to do their own part for the second half.

Thank you.

Under frokosten udnævner Dansk Amerikansk Klub en dansk-amerikaner til BORGMESTER-FOR-EN-DAG.

Torsdag den 3. juli, 2025 kl. 12:00 til kl. 15:00 på

Hotel Comwell Hvide Hus, Vesterbro 2, 9000 Aalborg.

Menuen: Dansk frokostbuffet med varme og kolde retter

Menu pris incl. Velkomstdrink, 1 øl og 1 snaps, kaffe og dessert: kr. 395,- pr. person

Invitation til Garden Party 2025

Tag familien med til nogle hyggelige timer i spændende omgivelser

GRATIS ADGANG FOR ALLE

• Gratis adgang til museet
• Udstilling af flotte amerikanerbiler
• Salgsbod
• Flyvestation Aalborgs Brass Band
• Gratis kagemand
• Gratis øl, vin, sodavand

Onsdag den 2. juli, 2025 fra kl. 10:00 til kl. 12:00 på

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum, Skydebanevej 22, 9000 Aalborg.

Dansk Amerikansk Klub åbner 4. juli dagene med denne festlige begivenhed.

Kom og vær med.

KÆRE MEDLEMMER

I anledning af den amerikanske højtid, THANKSGIVING, afholder Dansk Amerikansk Klub

THANKSGIVING DINNER

Torsdag den 28. november, 2024 kl. 18.30, på:

Restaurant Orkideen
Ølgodvej 1
9220 Aalborg Ø

Menuen består naturligvis af:
Kalkun tilberedt som i USA og med tilbehør som enhver amerikaner drømmer om. Efterfølgende æblekage, samt kaffe og kage.
Derud over er velkomstdrik og vin til maden inkluderet i kuvertprisen.

Pris ved registrering og betaling inden 22. november:  kr. 425,- pr. person.

Pris ved døren og for ikke D.A.K. medlemmer:   kr. 450, – pr. person

Skriv det i kalenderen, eller endnu bedre, tilmeld jer nu og senest fredag den 22. november til:

ONLINE TILMELDING HER (Kreditkort / MobilePay)

– eller –

• Jane Schultz: jaka@mail.dk eller 4094 2626           -eller-
• Jette Severinsen: severinsenjette@gmail.com eller 2673 4101

Gæster er velkomne .

På gensyn med godt humør til Thanksgiving  Dinner.

Bestyrelsen

Invitation til Amerikansk Valgaften

Morten Wendelbo har været bosat i USA i en del år og har blandt andet en Bachelors Degree i Political Science, en Master Degree i Public Policy og er Research Fellow ved The American University. Han har optrådt som politisk ekspert på både DR og TV2.

Torsdag den 24. oktober, 2024 kl. 19:00 til 22:00 på

GASSEN, Gasværksvej 46, 9000 Aalborg.

Der vil blive serveret vin, øl og sodavand samt snacks og pindemadder:

kr. 150,- pr. person

Tilmelding & betaling på dak.nemtilmeld.dk eller kontakt:

Jane Schultz     tlf. 4094 2626        mail: jaka@mail.dk eller

Jette Severinsen  tlf. 2673 4101     mail: severinsenjette@gmail.com

Tilmelding senest tirsdag den 15. oktober.

DANSK AMERIKANSK KLUB ÅBNER 4. JULI DAGENE I AALBORG OG INVITERER TIL GARDENPARTY

TIRSDAG DEN 2. JULI FRA KL. 10:00 TIL 12:00.

GARDENPARTY’ET AFHOLDES PÅ UDENOMSAREALERNE PÅ

AALBORG FORSVARS- OG GARNISONSMUSEUM, SKYDEBANEVEJ 22, 9000 AALBORG

DANSK AMERIKANSK KLUB’S GARDENPARTY ER ÅBEN FOR ALLE, SÅ TAG VENNER, FAMILIE, BØRN OG

BØRNEBØRN MED TIL EN HYGGELIG FORMIDDAG HVOR DANSK AMERIKANSK KLUB BYDER PÅ:

• GRATIS ADGANG TIL AALBORG FORSVARS- OG GARNISONS MUSEUM
• MUSIK – FLYVSTATION AALBORG BRASS BAND
• UDSTILLING MED AMERIKANER-BILER
• SALGSBODER 
• GRATIS SODAVAND, ØL OG VIN
• TRADITIONEL KAGEMAND