Flintridge Prep rings with Rose Queen excitement
The Flintridge Preparatory School campus was awash with excitement last Friday, not for the promise of the upcoming weekend but for the Thursday night coronation of senior Erika Winter as 2016 Rose Queen by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn.
Winter, the 98th woman in tournament history to wear the coveted crown, was presented with a tiara adorned with more than 600 cultured pearls and six carats of diamonds by Assn. President Mike Matthiessen during a coronation ceremony held at the Pasadena Convention Center.
“Rose Queen Erika and each member of the Royal Court have embarked on an exciting adventure and we are eager for them to encourage others to find their adventure throughout their community,” Matthiessen stated in a release issued by his organization following the announcement.
Flintridge Preparatory Dean of Students Midge Kimble attended the Oct. 22 event in Pasadena with a contingent of students who wanted to show support for their fellow classmate.
“It was a big crowd,” Kimble said of the turnout. “There are seven girls, and so there were crowds for each of the girls.”
The morning after the coronation, Winter, also a member of this year’s Prep homecoming court, appeared on campus bright and early for a court breakfast, where she was met with cheers by fellow seniors, Kimble said.
This is the third time the La Cañada campus has enjoyed such a distinction, according to Tournament records. In 2007, Flintridge Prep senior Mary McCluggage was crowned Rose Queen, and Katherine Potthast received the honor in 1982.
Erika Winter, center, displays apparent shock as the rest of the Royal Court is suprised and happy, as Winter was named 2016 Rose Queen at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena on Thursday, October 22, 2015.
Winter, 17, and the six Rose Princesses of the Royal Court — including Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy student Bryce Marie Blackwell and La Cañada High student Sarah Sumiko Shaklan — will serve as ambassadors for the Tournament of Roses and the city of Pasadena, making up to 100 community and media appearances in the next year.
Chief among their duties will be presiding over the 127th Rose Parade on New Year’s Day and the 102nd Rose Bowl Game that will follow. Other members of the Royal Court include: Natalie Breanne Hernandez-Barber of Alverno High; Rachelle Chacal Renee Liu of San Marino High; Donaly Elizabeth Marquez of Blair High and Regina Marché Pullens of Maranatha High.
Those who know Winter and her many campus commitments believe she is up to the task. A Pasadena resident and daughter of Tim and Kristine Winter, Erika Winter is part of the student senate and cheer and dance team, and also serves as a peer counselor, middle school commissioner and volunteer instructor for dance classes created for people with autism.
“She’s involved in a lot of things and is just an even-keeled, friendly young woman,” Kimble said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
