Scott Swanson
Brookelyn Burke was chosen Sportsman’s Holiday Queen Thursday evening, July 7, during a coronation ceremony held at the Community Chapel Amphitheater.
Burke, 16, the daughter of Aaron and Amy Burke, was selected from among the four Sportsman’s Court members to lead the festival, which she officially pronounced under way at the close of the cere-mony.
The other princesses are: Zoey Erevia, daughter of Aurora Bechtel and Richard and Heather Erevia; Luka Ogden, daughter of Jason and Pam Ogden; and Kelsie Rush, daughter of Heather Rush, Tim Rush and stepdad Eddie Goodwin.
Rush was named Miss Congeniality, announced by emcee Don Knight, who noted that title is awarded to an individual chosen by the other princesses “for her smile, her attitude and her thoughtfulness – in essence and in short, she is someone you would call your friend.”
Burke was crowned by 2021 Queen Haley Nunez, who delivered a farewell speech in which she told how being queen had given her opportunities to meet a wide range of people and how she had decided “to have some fun with it” by creating a hashtag called “FindQueenHaley” that turned out to be “super fun” as people posted photos they had taken with her.
“I got to try many different things I wouldn’t have gotten to,” she said of her reign.
Burke said she was “a little surprised it was me,” adding that when Nunez walked back and forth behind the current court, holding the crown aloft, Burke didn’t know what to expect.
“The princesses this year, all the girls I was on the court with could have been the one,” she said. “During the coronation, all the girls’ speeches were so good.”
She said she enjoyed Saturday’s Grand Parade the most of the weekend’s events, which included the Cut the Gut cruise night on Friday, and the parade, Logger Olympics, Chips ‘n’ Splinters variety show and the fireworks on Saturday.
“The parade was a lot of fun,” Burke said. “You always get to see everybody. I think the parade was my favorite. We had music on this float, so we were all singing and having fun.
“It’s always a good time with this group of girls. I’m truly friends with all of them. It’s a bunch of fun.”
The princesses all gave speeches in response to a question based on the festival’s “Enchanted Forest” theme: “What do you think makes Sweet Home an enchanting place to live or grow up?”
Burke, who was escorted by her father, Aaron Burke, said she initially focused on the natural resources – “the lake, to be exact,” but after some reflection realized that Sweet Home’s greatest resource is its people.
“Every idea I had would end with how great our community is,” she said, noting that Sweet Home High School, where she will be a senior next fall, is implementing a new motto: “One School, One Sound, One Family.”
“Some people might look at that and say, ‘Oh, that’s stupid, that’s a cringy motto,’ but I think that Sweet Home embodies that perfectly.”
She noted how, when her high school basketball team appeared in the Christmas Parade last winter, retired Athletic Director Larry Johnson and his wife handed them each a Dutch Bros card because “his wife loves seeing us involved in the community.”
“After that, I realized how important it is to be involved in the community and how giving our community really is,” Burke said. “When you see something like that, it inspires you to do the same. That’s part of the reason why I joined the Sportsman’s Holiday Court. I want to give back to our community in any way I can.”
Erevia, who was escorted by her father, Richard Erevia, focused on the natural resources available in Sweet Home in her speech, but she also spoke of the support the community shows for events and individuals.
“Not every town can say they have a huge lake and is surrounded by rivers and gorgeous trees,” she said. “But we live with a lot of amazing people and businesses.”
Those things, she said, “are why Sweet Home is such an enchanting place to live and grow up.”
Ogden, who was escorted by her father, Jason Ogden, told how the community stepped up when her parents were seeking to raise money to fund the adoption of her youngest sister.
“In the spring of 2019 our living room, dining room, family room, back porch, gravel driveways and bedrooms were so full of donations that we couldn’t the spaces for ourselves,” she said of the rummage sale her family held as a fundraiser. Customers, some of whom the family didn’t even know, came and then returned, bringing more items to sell, she recalled.
“This massive garage sale helped fund my family’s adoption process and far exceeded any of our expectations,” Ogden said. ” This memory will always stick with me from my childhood growing up in Sweet Home, a memory of an incredibly generous and supportive community.”
She said that, historically, when needs or tragedies arise, the community has always stepped up and is generous.
“This small community that cares about its members and its sense of humanity that it has retained from history is what makes Sweet Home such an enchanting place to grow up and live in,” Ogden concluded.
Rush, who was escorted by her father, Tim Rush, asked the audience to close their eyes and “imagine stepping outside into a sunny summer morning in Sweet Home, feeling the warm rays of sun on your face. A slight breeze blows a scent of fir trees your way.”
” I know it’s not hard to imagine, especially with the beautiful scenery that we have around us,” she added, launching into a list of activities available to local residents: hiking, visiting a farmers market, spending a day at Foster Lake, or camping.”
She, like others, noted that the community steps up to help those in need.
“My point here is that not that our town has a few cool things and nice people,” Rush said. “It’s that it is enchanting to watch our community thrive and help each other and that we are so lucky to be able to choose how we want our adventure to look.”
Junior Court members were introduced and performed a dance during the program. They are: Huntyr Adams, daughter of Shawn and Shelby Adams; Alayna Brooks, daughter of Sonia and Ryder Brooks; Isabelle DeLong, daughter of Phillip DeLong and Millie Ramsey; Marilyn Denue, daughter of Trevor and Cassandra Denue; Penelope Harrison, daughter of Amber Harrison; Hannah Keesecker, Kolton Lewis, son of Casey and Laura Lewis; Kinley Olsen, daughter of Jared and McKenna Olsen; Olivia Olsen, daughter of Jared and McKenna Olsen; Grayson Parr, son of Aubrey and Matt Parr; Ezra Rosa, son of Tomas and Amber Rosa; Lincoln Sutton, son of Krista and Devin Sutton; Drew Walnum, daughter of Tiffany Scott; and Airabella Walls, daughter of Sarah Walls.
Knight announced that court members raised $7,312 from sales of 50/50 tickets, with Burke taking the lead in the sales efforts. As a result, Burke was able to present a check for $3,656 to representatives of People United for Rescue and Rehoming (PURR), a local cat rescue nonprofit.
In addition to their speeches, the princesses were interviewed privately by a panel of six judges: Chamber of Commerce President Christy Duncan, Cascade Timber Consulting President Milt Moran, Lagea Mull of the City of Sweet Home, former Sportsman’s Holiday Queen Autumn St. Clair, Miriam Swanson of The New Era and Fire Chief Nick Tyler. Results were tabulated by Kayla Rosa, also a former Sportsman’s Holiday queen.
Court members also responded, impromptu, to a question that each drew from a jar.
Asked to discuss the most memorable event in her life, Burke said hers was being named Freshman Girl of the Year, noting that her freshman year was cut short because of COVID.
“I still worked really hard on school,” she said, noting that it was challenging because she was working without the company of others.
When she was named Freshman of the Year, “I was super excited because it made me realize that people still will realize your hard work even though you’re not around them every day,” Burke said.
Erevia was asked what she would do “if you knew you cannot fail?”
“If I knew I could not fail I would try everything because the thing we’re most scared of is failure. And if you know you can’t fail, then you can try anything,” she responded.
Ogden was asked what positive change might have resulted from the COVID pandemic, either for herself or for society.
“I think that COVID forced people to be around fewer people for longer amounts of time,” she said. “It restricted social circles and my personal experience is that I got to spend so much much-needed time with my family right after the adoption of my little sister.
“And I also think it definitely really helped me realize how much I appreciate just the little things that seem everyday and ordinary because when they were taken away from me, it was a lot of a bigger deal than I thought they were. So I definitely appreciate the little things a lot more.”
Rush was asked what parts of Sweet Home she considers the most valuable.
“I don’t find a specific place the most valuable,” she said. “I think the community is, honestly, the most valuable because it’s always a place that you can come back to and it feels like home and people just welcome you with open arms.”
Knight, whose wife Michelle is one of the court coordinators, encouraged the princesses to remember that as court members, “someone is always watching you.”
That, he said, “is a cool thing,” adding that “so many of the people that are still a part of (the court program) were princesses at one time, who are now incredibly successful people in our little community.”