Jessica Eli, 16, is one of five candidates running for Sweet Home Rodeo queen.
She is a junior at Sweet Home High School and a freshman at Linn-Benton Community College.
She is the daughter of Linda and Robert Eli. She has two brothers, Josh and Bobby, and a brother-in-law, Ricky. She has three sisters, Kristina, Kyla and Skie. She also has three nieces, Brianna, Alexis and Cierra, and one nephew, Jayden.
She works at Wal-Mart McDonald’s in Lebanon.
“I want to be rodeo queen because I love Sweet Home and the surrounding areas,” she said. “I think that I could represent the town and community the way that it should be.
“I have been around rodeos my whole life, from sitting in the stands with my shiny pink boots waiting for my father’s chute to open to, finally, being in the rodeos.
“I feel like I have grown with this rodeo and seen it develop into the event that it is today.
“This is my first year running for the Sweet Home Rodeo court. So far, I have learned more than I thought I could.
“The other girls and I have become a close group. I know that whoever wins wanted it the most. They earned it.
“These girls are the most caring group that I have ever met. If one of us has a problem, they all pitch in and try to make you feel better.”
Eli doesn’t have any particularly favorite thing about rodeos, she said. “I enjoy rodeo life. I like the way the rodeo involves children and other age groups, not just the contestants in the rodeo.
“I think that I can represent this rodeo and community the way that it should be. Our town has many different wonders, such as the Oregon Jamboree, and the different natural wonders, such as Foster Lake and White’s Electronics.
“I think that the rodeo is one of the funnest events that Sweet Home has. When you go to a rodeo, you see the little girls and boys all dressed up with their new boots, and they don’t have a speck of dirt on them. Then you see the older people with their scuffed-up boots.
“The boys and girls try to make their boots just as dirty so they can say that they were real cowboys and cowgirls.
“I hope that you have learned a little about me and the love that I have for this town and community. I hope to see you at the rodeo.”