Dec 12th Article on A & H
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: The Bachelor / Bachelorette: The Bachelor II: Dec 12th Article on A & H

Ryn

Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 08:32 am EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/webextra/bachelor/index.shtml More pictures and stories there.

Dec. 12, 2002
Ozarks bachelor still in demand
Buerge manages job, charity drives — and oh, yeah, his new relationship.

By Sony Hocklander
News-Leader

Early last Friday, Aaron Buerge arrived at First National Bank of Springfield, greeting bank president Eric Piel and the bank tellers as he went for coffee. Buerge, the bank’s senior vice president made famous as “The Bachelor” on ABC, had been gone most of the week making Bachelor-related appearances to help charitable causes.

Settling into his office, he leaned back in his chair as he tackled the day’s first appointment. Behind his chair, a wall calendar seemed frozen in time. Still flipped to October, its fall scene was out of place in December.

The static calendar is a stark contrast to Buerge’s hectic life.

In addition to charity events and commercial appearances, Buerge’s obligations to ABC continue. A production crew from ABC Family — a network affiliate — arrives this weekend to produce “The Bachelor: Special Edition.” The hit series will be re-aired Dec. 29 through Jan 4. But this time Buerge will host the series with Leanza Cornett, a former Miss America who asks the Bachelor to reveal his thoughts and activities behind the scenes.

It’s hard to keep track of it all, Buerge said. Balancing work with Bachelor-related obligations is a challenge. And while the attention and demands for his time are slowing, they’re nowhere near ending.

As president at the bank (which is owned by Buerge’s family) and as the Bachelor’s friend, Piel is patient. But he sighed good-naturedly when considering his colleague’s obligations.

“I kind of knew it would take a while to die down. Maybe it will slow down after the holidays,” he speculated with a hopeful smile. “But it’s OK. We’re plugging along and doing everything we’ve got to do.”

While he’s not complaining, Buerge, who suspended his salary while doing the show, keeps thinking his days will go back to business as usual.

And that the attention will die off.

“I keep telling myself that: ‘Well, maybe next week’ and then, ‘Well, maybe next week,’” he said Friday, looking around his desk, littered with files and papers. That’s not likely as long as Buerge remains a hot commodity. He recently appeared in two ABC shows: as a guest star on the sitcom “Less Than Perfect” and in the holiday special “Christmas in Aspen.”

On Dec. 2, he appeared in Butler, where he was born, to participate in the annual Christmas parade and to raise money for a dialysis machine. On Dec. 4 and 5, he was in Lincoln, Neb., to help a camp for kids.

Still, said Buerge, he’s closing loans and doing his job, but “I know what’s piling up. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back in the groove.”

In the days after the show’s finale, he appeared on talk shows including “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

Back home, he immediately launched into more appearances, both local and regional. On Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving, Buerge appeared for the grand opening of a casino in Biloxi, Miss. The following Sunday, he appeared at a holiday event in Sarcoxie.

And he recently agreed to become the national spokesman for Camp Quality, a camp for children with cancer.

Some appearances are favors. Family friend Jean Stewart, who teaches at Kickapoo High School, asked Buerge to speak to the school’s journalism class.

“Is that today?” Buerge asked Friday upon getting the reminder. Scrambling to call up his computer calendar, he confirmed the appearance, then rescheduled an overlapping appointment.

The morning would be tight, Buerge knew, since he was picking up his fiancée, Helene Eksterowicz, at the airport at noon.

Despite his time crunch, Buerge spoke patiently and with humor to the students who pelted him with questions about the show, his experiences — even dating advice.

Drawing a laugh, he told students it was humbling to see how “dorky” he looked on the TV dates. His only regret, he told students, was that some women had hurt feelings. For that reason alone, he probably wouldn’t do the show again.

After his talk, Buerge patiently posed for pictures, glancing now and then at his watch as he calculated the time it would take to sprint to the airport.

Reaction to his visit, which drew stares and whispers in the halls, was tame compared with the reception he receives elsewhere.

“For the most part, people in Springfield pretty much give me space. ... But it was borderline madness in Lincoln, Nebraska,” he said.

Now it takes him forever to walk across airports, and he plans to do most of his holiday shopping online, rather than face store crowds.

“If this was my lifestyle all the time, I don’t think I’d like it,” he said. Attention from the show also means his personal life is closely scrutinized. But Buerge says he won’t let tabloid tales dictate his life.

“You can’t live in a hole,” he said. And no matter what others might think, he plans to take his relationship with Eksterowicz one day at a time — like any normal couple would. Buerge hopes to visit his fiancée in New Jersey later this month.

Now that the show is over, ABC publicist Lauren Tobin suggests people leave the couple alone: “Now that they’ve found each other, the thing they need most is the ability to maintain a relationship that’s not in the public eye,” she said.

Meanwhile, Buerge is slowly getting back to business at the bank and at the restaurant he and three partners plan to open downtown in January.

And it’s likely he’ll help more charities when he can.

“I’ve always been involved in this sort of thing. Now, I have the notoriety that has really helped me create a vehicle to give funds to those who need it,” Buerge said. “I’m taking advantage of (the fame) in a positive way.”

Ryn

Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 08:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh yeah - this relationship is gonna last - lol.