Oct. 18 — Cascade Christian ready to crown first princess

School fulfills 20 year dream and hosts inaugural Daffodil Princess selection

Chris Albert / of the Herald

Cascade Christian High School is getting ready to select the first Daffodil princess in the school’s history.

A princess will be selected among five candidates from the senior class girls on Oct. 29 at the school.

While the school will usher in its first selection the Daffodil Festival will celebrate its 75th year, with the theme “75 Years, Remembering the Festival.”

The selection also marks the first time a privately funded high school has had a princess representing them in the Daffodil festival.

Crowning a princess from the high school has a been a 20-year dream for Principal Frank Washburn. It was two decades ago when he asked himself the question — could there be a Cascade Christian Daffodil Princess?

“It’ll be an exciting night to say the least,” he said.

It took some initiative and hard work to finally make it a reality, said Naomi Warren, the school’s Daffodil princess coordinator.

“We’ve always wanted to be a part of Daffodil,” she said. “No one really pressed it until last fall.”

To qualify, the school had to apply. The most challenging part of the process was creating a float to enter into the Daffodil Parade, Warren said.

Every school must have a float in the parade to have a princess that represents them the following year.

“Making a float is a very large undertaking,” Warren said.

The float featured a live jazz band of alums on it with a yellow grand piano. For their efforts they took home the judges’ award for best depicting the theme of “All that Jazz.”

“The Cascade Community is amazing when it comes to rising up and making something happen,” Warren said.

With that they were in the festival and began their search for princess candidates.

As interested girls went through the process of finding out what it means to be a Daffodil princess, including the presence and the time commitment they will need to be a candidate, came down to Beth Bollinger, Ashley Parker, Rachel Dyer, Olivia Anderson and Katie Krob.

Parker didn’t know much about the Daffodil Festival until her grandmother introduced her to it. When she heard about it she became interested in learning about poise and grace.

“I know there are a lot of things you can walk away from this with,” she said. “I was really surprised how much traveling you do.”

She has really enjoyed the extra time she has spent with the other candidates as they all prepare to become the school’s first princess.

As selection night nears, she is busy practicing how she will answer the impromptu question she will be asked.

Dyer is in her first year at the school and being a Daffodil princess wasn’t something she even thought about until Washburn asked her if it was something she would be interested in doing.

“I just hope it goes smoothly,” she said. “I would hope to present myself as somebody who is very confident and hopefully others will see how they can be confident too.”

For the selection night each princess candidate will give a short prepared speech and answer an impromptu question.

Other schools with Daffodil princesses have been very helpful in giving guidance for the selection night, Warren said, having set long standing models for what to do.

This should be the first of many Cascade Christian Daffodil princesses to come, Warren said.

“Being new I’m just trying to establish a firm foundation on which to build,” she said.

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Princess candidates

The following is a short introduction of the very first Cascade Christian High School Daffodil Princess candidates.

> Beth Bollinger is the daughter of Craig and Marilyn Bollinger. She is the Honor Society vice president and has a 3.88 GPA. Bolliner will be escorted by Kyle Blum.

> Ashley Parker is the daughter of Don and Rae Carbone. She is the 2007 Homecoming Queen and has a 3.31 GPA. Parker will escorted by Chad Warren.

> Rachel Dyer is the daughter of Gary and Sheri Dyer. She is the lead in her high school’s upcoming production of “Barbecuing Hamlet” and has a 3.38 GPA. Dyer will be escorted by Brian Crawford.

> Olivia Anderson is the daughter of Dwight and Cristina Anderson. She is the ASB Executive Vice President of Activities and has a 3.92 GPA. Anderson will be escorted by Jimmy Martin.

> Katie Krob is the daughter of Mick and Tammy Krob. She is the captain of the cheer squad and has a 3.58 GPA. Krob will be escorted by Charlie Velling.

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Selection Night

The Daffodil Princess Selection starts at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Cascade Christian High School, 811 21st St. SE, in Puyallup. The cost is $5 for adults; $3 for students.

Reach Reporter Chris Albert at 253-841-2481 ext. 313 or by e-mail at chris.albert@puyallupherald.com.