Sportsman’s Holiday Princess Collette Valentine says she wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity to be part of the court “for the world.”
Valentine, 16, is one of four court members this year; the other three are Taylor Goodwin, Makayla Griffin and Brook Womack.
The granddaughter of Jack Smith, Valentine has stepbrother and sister Blake and Alissa Holder, and another half sibling.
She graduated earlier this month from Sweet Home High School and plans to attend Linn-Benton Community College in the fall, then move on to Montana or Oregon State University to study veterinary medicine.
Her hobbies are horseback riding, animals, wheeling, gardening and swimming.
She’s been a manager for the football team, a member of the Huskiettes dance team, and volunteers at her church as a teacher, nursery worker and in the media department.
She’s lived her entire life in Sweet Home.
Valentine says one of the things she likes most about Sweet Home is “how close together we are and how small our town is.
“Everyone knows everyone. If you have an emergency and need someone, you could call one person and eight would show up to help.”
Also, she says, Sweet Home is “one of the most beautiful places; we have a lake, the woods, and it all looks like it’s out of a fairytale, it’s something you couldn’t find anywhere else.”
She says she joined the court to be an ambassador for the community, “not just for the people outside of Sweet Home, but for the kids growing up in Sweet Home.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind place, with one-of a kind people. A lot of people only like to look at the negative aspects of Sweet Home, when there are way more positive ones and it’s our job to show how much of an amazingly beautiful and close-knit town we really are.”
She says she enjoys the fireworks, but doesn’t have a particular favorite activity during Sportsman’s Holiday, because “the day, as a whole, is the best part of the community coming together and cele-brating Sweet Home. It’s amazing.
“It’s a one big day that means a lot to this town and the people in it.”
As a court member, she says, “it’s our job to show how much of an amazingly beautiful and close-knit town we really are.”