Hurricane Irene comes to the aid of Mattawa Communities Day
The MCD was quite a gathering place for royalty. Miss Washington Brittney Henry, right, met Miss Seattle Seafair Veronica Quintero for the first time. They signed autographs and took pictures with people in the park.
MATTAWA - Hurricane Irene slammed a door on the eastern United States last weekend and at the same time opened a window for the community of Mattawa.
Miss Seattle Seafair, 2008 Wahluke High School graduate Veronica Quintero, was able to attend the Mattawa Communities Day celebration after all. A flight she was supposed to catch in New York last weekend for a trip to India was canceled.
"I'm really happy I was able to come," she said.
So were lots of family and friends who caught up with her. There were numerous hugs and pictures.
"She was a wonderful student," said Wahluke School Board president Lois Thiede. "She got all kinds of awards."
Quintero was one of two WHS valedictorians that year. The other was Stanford University-bound Moses Gonzalez.
Among Quintero's many awards was a Gates Millennium Scholarship for the college of her choosing. She chose Washington.
Quintero's appearance completed quite a coup for Communities Day organizers. They already had a commitment from Miss Washington, Brittney Henry of Puyallup. The two queens met for the first time at Hund Memorial Park.
Organizers tried to get Miss Seattle Seafair, but she wasn't available. She scheduled to fly to India for a women's leadership conference. Then Hurricane Irene stepped in.
Quintero was looking for additional scholarship money when she entered the Hispanic Seafair contest with 11 other girls. She was also looking for an opportunity to network with the Univision television network, which is a competition sponsor.
"I wanted to give them a chance to know me since I wanted to go into broadcast news," Quintero said. "I got a lot of exposure. The competition started in January, and Miss Hispanic Seafair was crowned on May 21."
By winning Hispanic Seafair, Quintero qualified for the overall Miss Seattle Seafair crown. There were 10 other girls representing distinct communities such as West Seattle and other minority groups.
Winning Miss Seattle Seafair was quite a leap for Quintero from her high school days. She finished second in the Mattawa Junior Miss Program in 2007.
Quintero, a junior at UW, plans to study until she completes a masters degree in business or communications. She hopes to end up in television news but she may start out in some corporation's public relations department.