Rendezvous is moons away. Readers will be updated on what is happening during my one year “royal” rendezvous queen journey!

Spring is here and summer is coming. Everybody has put away talk of events that happened in the cold winter months. The 2016 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is moons away.

However, my crown as Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR) Queen is only good for one year, and there are so many things I want to do. So here we have the creation of “The Queen’s Corner”, a monthly column for What’s Up Yukon. Readers will be updated on what is happening during my one year “royal” journey and the positive impact I hope to achieve in the communities. Stay tuned.

Comments and suggestions are much appreciated.

How did this journey start? My family and I moved to the Yukon four years ago, and the Yukon and its people have been incomparably kind to us. I have been blessed with the opportunity to pursue my real estate career and my husband has a job he likes, too. Most important of all, there are services available for my adult son with special needs, who requires constant supervision. Joining the YSR Queen contest was my way of giving back to the community. But honestly, I had no idea what I was signing up for.

I had no prior knowledge about YSR. I had never purchased a single Queen raffl e ticket before joining the competition. The ice sculptures at Shipyards Park are the only thing I remember about the festival prior to my running for the Rendezvous Queen title. My main purpose in running was to help raise money, selling raffle tickets for the events so that kids would be able to attend the events free. I thought, “It is for a good cause, why not?”

I was also enticed by other benefits of being a contestant: improving my public speaking skills, and, appealing to my vanity, having the opportunity to have pictures taken with me in Victorian-era costumes for posters. “Hey, those posters might go down in history,” were the words of my wishful thinking.

After all, learning public speaking and participating in a simple fashion show didn’t seem to be too tough. So I signed on the dotted line.

We were given a manual the first day of our Queen School at the end of November last year. It spelled out very clearly what we were going to be judged on: public speaking, a fashion show, ticket selling, dinner etiquette, performance in a talent show, an interview, hosting the Queen’s tea — but wait — hold on a minute. I had no talent to show, and I wasn’t aware of all the other items, except for the ticket-selling.

It was decision time; do I quit or continue with this?

I wanted to give back to the community. And what would I say to my sponsor if I were to quit? What’s more, I had already signed on the dotted line.

“Okay, Okay,” I thought. “I will do it. I’ll be a good sport and a responsible person. I will try my very best in the contest.”

Forget about winning and all the judged events — that was never on my agenda. Come February 21, the crowning day, I would be free again. Or so I thought.

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