Five seek queen's crown for May Fest 2016, Selection Night Monday, Feb. 15

Five Oroville High School juniors have thrown their hats in the ring and will vie for May Festival Queen to represent the community in both the Oroville festival and events in neighboring communities in Washington and British Columbia. The girls are (l-r) Lena Fuchs, Pie Todd, Narya Naillon, Bonnie Roley and Zoe Whittaker Jameson. May Festival Selection night for the 2016 May Festival Royalty is Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at the OHS Commons, where admittance is free. Each person in attendance is allowed one vote and these will be combined with the judges’ votes to determine who will be this year’s queen and her court of two princesses. Gary DeVon/staff photo

OROVILLE – This year sees five candidates who would like to be crowned the Oroville May Festival Queen for 2016. They are Zoe Whittaker Jameson, Narya Naillon, Bonnie Roley, Lena Fuchs and Pie Todd, all juniors at Oroville High School.

The five girls running have been busy preparing their speeches and getting their gowns. Selection night for the 2016 May Festival Royalty is Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Oroville High School Commons, where admittance is free. Only people in attendance may vote and each person will be given one ballot when they enter. Voting by the audience accounts for 35 percent of the score and judges scores account for 65 percent. The totals will determine who will be this year’s queen and her court of two princesses.

The May Festival Committee is wishing good luck to all the candidates and asks the public to come and cast their vote for the 82nd May Festival Queen. Refreshments will be served during the vote tally.

The would-be queens and princesses submitted a little bit about themselves and the G-T has printed their bios this weeks so the public may get an idea of the candidates qualifications to represent the town as May Festival royalty.

Zoe Whittaker Jameson

Hi everyone my name is Zoe Whittaker Jameson and I am running to be the 2016 May Queen. I’m 16 years old, a junior at Oroville High School, and I have lived in Oroville my entire life. My mother’s name is Denise Jameson, my father’s name is Paul Whittaker, and I have one older brother named Jed. I’m currently in a few Running Start classes and in the near future I would like to attend a four year university and get a degree in business with a minor in English, then attend law school and I someday hope to start my own law firm.

Living in Oroville, May Day has always been something big to look forward to. I absolutely love everything the festival has to offer. In fourth grade I danced the Maypole and the next year I joined the band where I played the flute and marched with the band every year up until my sophomore year, with the exception of my 8th grade year where I was a part of the class royalty. My sophomore year I joined the cheerleading squad, and this is my second year being captain of both football and basketball squads.

By joining cheerleading I felt more involved, not only with our school but with the community. Supporting our teams and seeing the community’s involvement made me appreciate what we have in Oroville even more.

I love growing up in a small town, especially this one, not only because everyone supports one another and is so tight knit with each other, but also because of functions like May Day that bring the community together and celebrate our town. What we have going is incredible and I am so honored to even be considered for royalty at this 82nd May Festival. I would like to wish the rest of these lovely ladies luck, and I look forward to seeing everyone at selection night!

Narya Naillon

My name is Narya Naillon and I am one of your 2016 May Day Queen candidates. I am seventeen years old, and a Junior at Oroville High School. I have been involved in many activities; including Cheerleading, the Oroville chapter of the Border Patrol Explorers, Running Start, singing at events, and volunteering my time as I can. This past summer I took a Nurse’s Assistant Certification class, and got my official Certified Nurse Aide license. In the near future I plan on working in Healthcare at our county’s very own North Valley Hospital. I would like to stay in Oroville, and find ways to help people from Oroville and surrounding communities.

I am beyond excited to have to chance to represent our community as Queen, it has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I have lived here for my whole life, and my family has been here for over one hundred years; it is safe to say that Oroville holds a special place in my heart. I love how tight-knit our community is; it has been a truly amazing place to grow up.

My parents are Marcia and Ed Naillon, and I have two siblings, Clayton and Cassandra. I also have most of my extended family living in this area, too; including both my grandma Helm, and my grandma Naillon. My Aunt Charlene and Uncle Greg have lived here for many years, and my Uncle Tim and Aunt Dianna run the Pastime, here in town. May Day has always been a big deal to my family and me, and from the time I was born, we have enjoyed watching and doing what we could to participate in it. This is not the first time I have participated in May Day. When I was younger I took the opportunity to sing at the Queen’s tea, and in fourth grade, I was in the May pole dance. I was part of my class royalty my ninth grade year. I had so much fun with my family and fellow royalty members, putting our float together. It was so exciting to hear that the float we had worked so hard on, won Queen’s Choice.

I would like to thank our wonderful community for giving me a chance at making one of my childhood dreams come true and I would like to encourage you all to come to Selection Night on February 15th, and I wish the very best of luck to every single one of the ladies running for May Queen this year.

Bonnie Roley

Hello, I’m Bonnie Roley and I am so honored to have the opportunity to be a candidate for your 2016 May Day Festival Queen. It would be an amazing experience to be able to represent the wonderful town that I grew up in. I am 16-years old and a junior at Oroville High School. My family moved here when I was 4 years-old and I honestly cannot imagine a better place for me to start my life in. My parents are Neysa and Ross Roley. I have 4 siblings, Eric, Gareth, Dayna, and Bethany. My family has also hosted 4 long-term exchange students. Both of my sisters have served as May Day Festival Princesses when they were my age.

I love to be involved in my community whenever I can. I’ve tried a variety of sports but the one I enjoy the best is cheerleading. I have been a cheerleader since my freshmen year and this year I was a captain for both football and basketball season. I love getting my school involved with the Oroville teams, because it draws everyone into the community. I get A’s and B’s in all my classes and I get along very well with all of my teachers. I am also taking Running Start classes through the school this year. I was involved with the Border Patrol Explorer program for several years and in this past year, I was a supervisor. We did a lot of community service and helped in different ways with many events. I also participate in community service with my church youth group such as helping at the food bank and visiting the nursing home. During the summer, I work at Hughes’ Department Store and I absolutely love it there. After I graduate I want to move to Utah and attend the University of Utah to become a nurse practitioner.

Ever since I was little, one of my favorite parts of the year was watching the May Day Parade and participating in the events that followed the parade. I loved being in the parade whenever I could. In elementary school, I would march in the parade with the band and choir, except for the year I was a Maypole dancer. I rode with the Border Patrol Explorers from junior high to freshmen year, and last year I had the honor of representing my class by being an attendant and I had a wonderful time. As I was growing up, I also witnessed my older sisters be class royalty as well as May Day Festival princesses during their junior year. Seeing their good experiences only encouraged me and motivated me to run for May Day royalty this year. I have always admired the royalty, and since I was a little girl, I just wanted that to be me on the big floats wearing a fancy dress, having the chance to represent this town.

It would be such an amazing experience and a pure honor to be able to represent the wonderful town of Oroville. I hope I see everyone at Selection Night on Feb. 15th. It would be a dream come true to become royalty this May Day Festival. I wish the best of luck to my fellow candidates, Narya, Zoe, Lena, and Pie.

Lena Fuchs

My name is Lena Fuchs, and I’m honored to be a candidate for your 2016 May Day Queen. My family includes my parents Robert and Steffi, as well as my little brother, Paul. One of my favorite things about Oroville is how close and supporting our community is. I was in the Border Patrol Explorers for almost two years, where we did many community service projects. I have participated in sports all through high school, including volleyball, tennis, and cheerleading. I’ve been in Future Business Leaders of America since 7th grade, and have competed at state. I have been elected as a class officer every year since JH and enjoy being part of student activities. I am part of the college access and success program Upward Bound. I began working at Hughes’ when I was 15 and have also worked at the Veranda Beach Diner. I am also currently assisting my dad in his Late Night Movies project, where the projects main goal is to bring our community even closer. I am a Running Start student at Wenatchee Valley College in Omak, where I made the Dean’s list my first semester. After earning my AA simultaneously with my High School diploma I plan to transfer to Whitworth University, to complete my bachelors in psychology.

I have been a part of May Day for as long as I can remember. I have done everything from riding on the fire truck, to marching with the pep bad, as well as, skipping in the May Pole dance. If I was selected for the May Day court, I would be incredibly proud to represent our great community. I would share all the great things our community has to offer with other towns. May Day has always been my favorite part of living in this town. Being a part of this amazing tradition would be great honor. I would like to wish the best of luck to my fellow candidates.

Pie Todd

Hello everyone, my name is Pie Todd. I am very honored to be running for your 2016 May Day Queen.

My parents are Pia and Joe Lemaster and my sister is Aya Cruspero. I moved to Oroville during my fifth grade year from the Philippines and I admit, it was a not an easy transition. Everyone in the community was very welcoming and kind, so it did not take long until I felt like I had been living here my whole life.

I am a junior at Oroville High School and a Running Start student at Wenatchee Valley College, working towards my nursing degree. I am very involved in both school and community. I have been a part of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) since seventh grade. I am also a football cheerleader, a basketball player, and a softball player.

I am also a part of an amazing church organization, which has helped me become very productive within our community. Every year we have a food drive at Prince’s and Frontier Foods to help the community food bank, a suitcase ministry towards the children in foster homes, we send out care packages to men/women who are serving that are from the community, and much more. I also play the violin every Sunday for church music and sing the national anthem during home games for sporting events. I have competed and will be competing again this year in Nashville Stars, which is a singing competition, and I am very proud to be representing our community.

I have fallen in love with Oroville, simply because it is a beautiful place to live. You can always count on someone’s help and support. I am looking forward to be competing for this upcoming 2016 May Day Royalty. I hope to see you all on selection night, and I wish the very best of luck to all my friends.