2010 Tulip Ambassadors Chosen
By: Cindy Verge

Students from Lucille Umbarger and ICRS

Anna-Marie Alvarado and Blake Gurney, 2010 Key Bank Tulip Ambassadors

BURLINGTON -- Smiles lit the faces of Blake Gurney and Anna-Marie Alvarado last week as they were named the 2010 Key Bank Tulip Ambassadors. They competed against 40+ fourth and fifth grade students for the ambassador positions.

Blake is a 5th grader at Lucille Umbarger and Anna-Marie is a 4th grader at Immaculate Conception Regional School. A panel of 5 judges (all members of the tulip festival board of directors) rated them best in their answers to two questions: "Why do you want to be a tulip ambassador?" and "If you were a farmer in Skagit Valley, what would you farm and why?"

Blake and Anna-Marie will visit Olympia on March 2, meeting the governor, lt. governor, and Skagit Valley legislators. In addition they will make appearances throughout the festival,including greeting visitors on April 3 at RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town, awarding trophies at the Tulip Basketball tournament on March 28, and appearing at the Chili, Chowdah, and Chocolate cookoff on April 17.