The Princeton Ambassador Program crowned six new ambassadors for the 2024-2025 year during its coronation ceremony on Sunday, June 2, to help kick off the Rum River Festival.
The coronation ceremony serves as a way for the previous ambassadors to say goodbye to their roles and allow them to pass on the title of ambassador to their successors.
The 2023 ambassadors were Lucy Beckers and Daniela Hernandez as Little Miss Princetons, Josephine Richter as a junior ambassador, and Sierra Lee and Natalie Kinler as ambassadors.
The six new ambassadors are Little Miss Princeton Hannah Yant and Sophia Shelley, Junior Ambassadors Lacey Hoppe and Lana Hoppe, and Princeton Ambassadors Antonia Mujica and Annabelle Lawrence.
Before the crowning ceremony began, all of the competing ambassador candidates had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the crowd with a speech about why they wanted to be ambassadors and how they hoped to help the city of Princeton.
All of the candidates spent months leading up to the coronation assisting the Ambassadors Program at various events. At each event, the candidates were judged by how well they fit the program. The candidates also participated in various interviews with the judges to help them finalize their decisions.
After the candidates’ speeches, the Princeton Ambassadors Programs recognized the visiting royalty from other cities and welcomed the representatives from the Minneapolis Aquatennial to the stage to present 2023 Ambassador Natalie Kinler with a Queens Charm to symbolize her official invitation to the 2024 Minneapolis Aquatennial.
The Minneapolis Aquatennial also presented a Princeton resident with its Honorary Commodore Award for her volunteer work within the city. Char Kramersmeier was the recipient of the award for her time as a teacher in the community, volunteering in the schools, involvement in multiple community organizations, and other community volunteer activities.
Next, representatives of the St. Paul Winter Carnival took to the stage.
One St. Paul Winter Carnival representative was the 2024 Queen of the Snowflakes, Kelsey Siercks, who is a Princeton resident and a previous Princeton ambassador.
Lastly, the St. Paul Winter Carnival representatives invited the 2023 Princeton Ambassadors and Kim Young, the executive director of the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, to the stage to be “knighted” in a short ceremony to recognize them for their work giving back to the Princeton community.
The last events before the crowning of the new candidates allowed the 2023 ambassadors the opportunity to say goodbye to their roles through farewell speeches and a farewell video. Each ambassador said a personal goodbye to their fellow ambassadors and the community as well as thanking a wide variety of people for their efforts to make their reigns possible.
The last event of the evening was the crowning of the 2024 Princeton Ambassadors.
In the program for the event, each ambassador candidate provided a short biography.
Antonia Mujica, sponsored by the Baldwin Fire Department, is a recent graduate of Princeton High School. She has lived in the community her entire life and has volunteered through her church. She said that she wanted to be a Princeton Ambassador because she loves the community and believes she will be able to represent the city well as a role model.
Annabelle Lawrence, sponsored by Beyond Sport Fitness, recently completed her freshman year of high school and is involved in gymnastics and volleyball. She said she was hoping to be crowned so she can spend more time getting involved with the community.
The new ambassadors will make their debut to the Princeton Community during the Rum River Festival Parade on Thursday, June 6.
To learn more about the Princeton Ambassadors Program, visit https://princetonambassadorprogram.org/.
Reach Chloe Smith at chloe.smith@apgecm.com
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