LANSING (WWJ) Governor Gretchen Whitmer is asking for your help to come up with a perfect name for the successor to Dolly Pardon and Mitch E. Gander.
Dolly, in 2023, and Mitch, in 2022, escaped the Thanksgiving table as the turkeys pardoned by Governor Whitmer.
Now, Michiganders (or Michigobblers) of all ages are invited to submit names for the bird that Whitmer will pardon this year in the state’s third annual turkey-naming contest--just like the one that gave Dolly Pardon and Mitch E. Gander their monikers. Whitmer encourages kids to take part.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, November 12th, 11:59 p.m. The winning name will be announced on Thursday, November 14th.
“This year, as always, our team is thankful for you. We are thankful for your passion, your love of Michigan, and all the thoughts and ideas you have shared with us over the last six years," Whitmer's office said in a press release. "We are honored to continue serving you, and we cannot wait to see the names you come up with for the lucky turkey!”
You can submit as many potential names as you’d like at this link. There is no limit to submissions per person.
The “pardoning of the turkey” is a White House tradition that dates back to 1863. Then President Abraham Lincoln’s youngest son, Tad, only ten at the time, asked his father to pardon a turkey named Jack. Lincoln followed his request. Since then, Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan participated in turkey pardons—but George H.W. Bush cemented it as an annual tradition after he took office in 1989.