One big Hot Dog

(June 23, 2007) — Hot dog, Matthew Mitchell is on a roll.

Actually, to be precise, he’s in a roll.

Twenty-three years old, a freshly minted graduate of the University of Missouri, the Rochester resident has hit the road as an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile driver, a so-called “hotdogger.”

As a hotdogger, he’s driving one of six 27-foot long vehicles that are, essentially, large hot dogs on wheels.

He’ll travel to state fairs, county fairs and festivals to listen to thousands of people sing Oscar Mayer Wiener jingles, as part of a nationwide “Sing the Jingle, Be a Star.”

Winners get a spot in an Oscar Mayer commercial as well as a trip to the next American Idol finale.

Mitchell has other duties, too, everything from setting up at each stop to making ceremonial visits with the Wienermobile.

“You have to wear many hats along the Hot Dog Highway,” Mitchell says.