5 juniors vie for Royal's Distinguished Young Women

ROYAL CITY - Five Royal High School juniors will put their best foot forward Saturday night in an effort to win the crown of 2014 Distinguished Young Woman of Royal City.

The Distinguished Young Woman Program will take place on March 22 at 7 p.m. at the Red Rock Elementary gymnasium. The theme is "A Camping We Will Go.....".

The five contestants are Janette Ruiz, Samantha Noftle, Khrystal Spalding, Jacquelin Guadarrama and Samantha Eilers.

Tickets are priced at $8 in advance and $10 at the door. They are available from each of the individual contestants and may be purchased at Harvest Foods. As usual, a full house is expected.

The proceeds from admission and donations go to the program's scholarship fund and to the community float the girls ride on as they visit other communities as ambassadors of Royal City.

Scholarships are a focus of the DYW Program. More than $5,000 dollars in scholarships will be awarded this Saturday.

Saturday marks the 50th year the Distinguished Young Woman Program, which was formerly called Junior Miss, has been celebrated in Royal City. Julirae Castleton is working on a display with photos of past royalties and floats.

The Distinguished Young Woman Program evaluates contestants in five categories, including judges interview, fitness, self-expression, talent and scholastics.

"Five Judges from out of the area, who are unfamiliar with the contestants, conduct a 10-minute interview with each of the girls earlier in the day and score them based on their sense of values, ability to express their opinions and ideas, personality, perception and mental alertness," program director Lisa Christensen said.

This category, along with the talent, performed on stage Saturday evening, are weighted the heaviest at 25 percent of the contestant score, followed by scholastics at 20 percent and fitness and Self-expression at 15 percent each.

"Volunteers throughout the community make this program possible," Christensen said. "Festival president Chris Mianecki would like to invite any and all who would like to be involved to join."

Part of the DYW program is community involvement. Among other activities, this year's DYW, Morgan Small, finalist Samantha Solis and the five contestants have:

Sponsored a blood drive, attended an etiquette dinner, introduced themselves at the Booster auction, performed at Coventry Assisted Living Center, shared the five elements of the "Be Your Best Self Program" with fifth graders at Red Rock Elementary, washed window advertising off of local businesses following Summerfest and sponsored a Christmas luncheon for community members involved in the program in the early days.

"A big thank you is owed to Dennis and Trula Gull, who have been instrumental in not only building but also transporting the Royal Community Float throughout the state for many years," Christensen said. "They are looking to ease up on their involvement and focus more time on their family. So we are especially in need of any community members with expertise in these areas or a desire to help out."

Christensen also thanks the Royal School District and the staff at Red Rock Elementary for allowing the use the building and disruption of their schedule on several days prior to the program.

Samantha Noftle is the daughter of Michael and Rebecca Noftle. She is planning a dental hygiene career with studies at BYU-Idaho.

Samantha's activities have included church youth group, chamber choir, cheerleading, dance, softball, volleyball, FBLA and Pep Club.

For the talent portion of her presentation, Samantha will sing "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.

Jacquelin Guadarrama, known as Jacky on the sports scene, is the daughter of Zenaida and Santos Guadarrama. She plans to attend the University of Washington and study cosmetology or dentistry.

Jacky's activities have included confirmation group, Young Executives of Color, chamber choir, dance team, Trio Upward Bound, varsity soccer, varsity basketball, varsity track and pep band. She is a member of the Royal High Honor Society.

For the talent portion of her presentation, Jacky will sing "Dream with Me" by Jackie Evancho.

Janette Ruiz is the daughter of Maria Arroyo and Alejandro Ruiz. Her long-range goal is to become and officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. First she will attend Eastern Washington University.

Janette started developing military skills as a member of National Junior ROTC while a freshman in California. Her activities have included unarmed exhibition, unarmed basic drill, armed basic drill and color guard. She has wrestled for Royal High.

For the talent portion of her presentation, Janette will perform a rifle spinning exhibition.

Khrystal Marie Spalding is the daughter Susie Littlewood and Larry and Carolyn Spalding. An employee at her mother's restaurant, Deli-sh, her long-range plan is to own and operate her own business. First she will attend Aveda Institute.

Khrystal's activities have included basketball, cheerleading, drill team and softball.

For the talent portion of her presentation, Khrystal will deliver the monologue "Sick" by Shel Silverstein.

Samantha Jaye Eilers is the daughter of Steve and Amanda Eilers. She plans to become a physical therapist or orthopedic surgeon, studying at the University of Washington.

Samantha's activities and honors have included 4-H Club president, treasurer, and secretary, RHS Honor Society, varsity cross country, dance team, varsity softball, Vacation Bible School, church clean-up and pep club.

Samantha will dance for the talent portion of her presentation. She will do "Dance With Me Tonight" by Olly Murs, choreographed by Samantha Solis, Ms. Perryman and Samantha Eilers.