By Emily Mentzer, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 12:00 am
Strawberry Princess Maddy Phillips grew up in Lebanon and went to all the strawberry parades.
"It was every little girl's dream to be a princess," she said.
Phillips is a senior at Lebanon High School.
Younger brother Cooper, 4, attends Punkin Seed Preschool. Younger sister Ellie, 13, is a seventh-grader at Seven Oak Middle School.
Her parents, Doug and Marcie Phillips, both work at Hewlett-Packard.
Phillips said as a strawberry princess she is a spokeswoman for the community.
The court was formally introduced to the community at the Distinguished Service Awards banquet.
In April, the princesses began visiting retirement homes and elementary and middle schools.
"We get to eat lunch with them and hang out, talk to them," she said.
Phillips said they also will make a trip to the state capitol.
To Phillips, the Strawberry Festival is a gathering of the community.
"It's a time where our little, cute, small community gets together," she said. "It's such a fun weekend; everyone's always out and happy. It's a lot of fun."
Phillips will graduate near the top of her class with about a 3.8 grade point average.
"I've been accepted at the (University of Oregon) on a dean's scholarship for all four years," she said.
She plans to study business at the University of Oregon.
"I think a business degree is well-rounded. You can go a lot of places with a business degree," she said.
Phillips said she doesn't have that one thing she's super passionate about, and hopes business is something she can use in many different ways.
She enjoys traveling and also plans to study Spanish and international studies. She's already studied Spanish for four years.
Phillips is president of Keystone through the Boys & Girls Club of Lebanon. She is a member of DECA, a marketing association, is secretary of the National Honor Society, and plays golf.
She has golfed on the LHS team for four years. Although she enjoys the sport, she says she won't be trying out for the LPGA anytime soon.