Derby Princess Diaries (Courier-Journal)
These five young women were selected to serve as Princesses for the 2008 Kentucky Derby Festival. They are:
| Kathryn (Katie)
Elizabeth Allen of
Louisville, KY is a
senior majoring in
Management at Belmont
University in Nashville.
She is a Phi Mu
Presidential Award
Recipient, a member of
the school’s Dean’s List
since 2004 and a
Vanderbilt Children’s
Hospital intern. |
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| Charis Elaine
Botelho of Ft.
Campbell, KY is a senior
majoring in Biology at
the University of
Louisville. She is a
Provost’s Hallmark Award
Scholar, a McConnell
Scholar, a Cardinal Host
for the U of L
President’s Office and a
Salvation Army
volunteer. |
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| Talea Renee Drummer
of Lexington, KY and
Cleveland, OH is a
Master’s Student
majoring in College
Student Personnel at the
University of
Louisville. She is a
member of the Kappa
Delta Pi International
Honors Society for
Education, a former
National Pan-Hellenic
Council President at
Miami University and a
volunteer with the
undergraduate
Inter-Fraternity
Institute. |
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| Christin Herbst
of Columbia, KY is a
senior majoring in
Agricultural
Biotechnology at the
University of Kentucky.
She is a member of the
University of Kentucky
Block and Bridle Club, a
recipient of a National
Science Foundation
Fellowship and a
volunteer at the
Kentucky Horse Park. |
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| December Dawn
Parker of Benton, KY
is a senior majoring in
Chemical
Engineering/Pre-Dental
at the University of
Louisville. She is a
member of the American
Institute of Chemical
Engineers, a member of
the school’s Dean’s List
for six consecutive
semesters and a coach
for Girls on the Run of
Louisville. |
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Carly Schneider of Louisville,
KY was chosen as the first alternate.
Kendra Leigh Clayton of Benton, KY
was chosen as the second alternate. They
will become Princesses if one of the
other women is unable to serve.
The five young women selected as
Princesses will act as ambassadors for the
2008 Derby Festival, attending nearly 70
events over a three-week period. Fifteen
were selected as finalists out of the more
than 90 original applicants for the five
Princess positions, and all 15 attended the
final judging this week at the Old Medical
School Building. None of them knew in
advance who had been selected.
The court will represent the Derby
Festival and the city of Louisville as
official ambassadors for the springtime
tradition of the Kentucky Derby Festival.
They will attend nearly every official Derby
Festival event beginning with the Poster
Premiere on January 31 to their appearance
in the Republic Bank Pegasus Parade on May
1. In addition, they will attend the
Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby at
Churchill Downs and make visits to schools
to discuss the importance of volunteerism.
One of the five women will be crowned the
Derby Festival Queen by a spin-of-the-wheel
at the annual Fillies’ Derby Ball on April
18 at the Galt House East Grand Ballroom.
Each woman will receive a $2000 scholarship
($1000 from the Fillies and $1000 from the
Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation).
The Derby Festival’s Princess Program is
coordinated by The Fillies, Inc., a
volunteer group that works closely with the
Festival. Fillies President Nancy Rust
joined 2008 Derby Festival Chairman Nancy
Norris in crowning the newly appointed
court.
Candidates for the Princess Program must
maintain a minimum 3.0 grade-point average
and are selected by a panel of three
out-of-state judges. Criteria for selection
includes knowledge of the Derby Festival,
poise, intelligence, personality and campus
and community involvement. The first Derby
Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the
second year of the Festival. Previous
Princesses have included former Kentucky
Governor Martha Layne Collins and Gail
Gorski, the first female pilot ever hired by
United Airlines.
The Derby Festival is an independent
community organization supported by 4,000
volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups,
Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event
participation. It entertains more than 1.5
million people annually. This involvement
has made the Festival the largest single
attended event in Kentucky and one of the
leading community celebrations in the world.
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