PHOTOS COURTESY OF FIFE HIGH SCHOOL

Coronation candidates and their escorts, from left to right: Josh Porter and Cassi Cain, Jordan Lewis and Bailey Nirider, Cameron Andrews and Laurie Kilcup, Colleen Phillips and Ben Ruff, Amanda Reddaway and Matthew Lemke, Emma Gremer and John Rhodes.

Fife High School selects Daffodil Princess

By Matt Nagle

Fife High School senior Colleen Phillips has been selected as the high school’s 2008-2009 Daffodil Princess. At a coronation event Oct. 15 in the Columbia Junior High School Performing Arts Center, six impeccably dressed candidates were viewed and tested by three judges, with Phillips emerging as winner in a very tight, and friendly, competition.

Jim Roth, branch manager of Columbia Bank in Fife, was one of the three judges for the coronation along with Mayor of Milton Katrina Asay and Laurel Potter, marketing coordinator for the city of Fife. Roth said he was impressed with every one of the candidates. “They all presented themselves very well,” he said, noting that even during interviews earlier in the day with all three judges sitting across from them asking direct questions, each young lady handled herself with grace. “They all did a nice job and showed great poise. Any one of them would have made a nice representative for their school.”

In the end only one of the six girls could be chosen as princess, and for the judges it was Phillips who stood out, particularly during the impromptu question segment of the coronation when each candidate was required to answer a hypothetical question off-the-cuff. “With me, it was the poise she showed in the questioning, which has to be uncomfortable onstage,” Roth said. “She just seemed to be comfortable up there and showed flashes of humor and the ability to think well on her feet.”  

The candidates also had to give a prepared speech in keeping with the theme “Swing Into Spring.” Phillips said hers was about how springtime ties in with daffodil season and the time that marks big changes for senior high school students upon their graduation.

She said she was surprised when she won. “It was really exciting. I’m happy.”

She said she’s looking forward to preparing for the March 13 Queen’s Coronation, when Phillips will present herself with other princesses from local high schools from which the Daffodil Queen will be selected to reign over the many Daffodil Festival activities that take place throughout the festival year. In the meantime, Phillips will have princess practice every Saturday through January and February where she will learn how to properly present herself as a goodwill ambassador for the Daffodil Festival throughout Pierce County.

To qualify as a princess candidate, open only to girls in the senior class, each must carry a grade point average of 3.2 or higher and be involved in both their community and their school. Phillips is on the Fife High School soccer team, has run track, is a member of the National Honors Society, and is active in a community service-based club called Family Career Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).

“She’ll be a great representative not just for us but for the entire Daffodil organization,” said Fife High School teacher Laura Hilzendeger who is the high school’s Daffodil coordinator with fellow Fife teacher Christiann Thomas.

“She is a high performer in academics, athletics and activities,” Thomas remarked. “She’s going to have a wonderful opportunity ahead of her.” 

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