It’s hard to imagine a royal family resides in a community like Woodbury, but alas it’s true. Although the pomp and circumstance isn’t that of say British royalty, the Woodbury Ambassadors Royal Family is very much a pillar of the community. The family consists of both children and adults who form a group that spend a year together attending events and performing community service. In addition to, of course, wearing crowns, attending parades and generally being town royalty.
Nearly any Woodbury resident can become part of the royal family, as there are roles for girls as young as third grade all the way up to adults who are 50 or older. The family consists of Miss Woodbury, two Miss Woodbury Princesses, Little Miss Woodbury, two Little Miss Woodbury Princesses, and a Senior King and Queen (although there hasn’t been a Senior King the past few years).
In order to be a candidate for Miss Woodbury, students must be a junior or senior in high school, or be currently pursuing secondary education. For the “little” roles, the girls must be entering third, fourth, or fifth grade. Senior ambassadors must be at least 50 years old.
Jodi Sward and her daughter Nicole, now 17, have both participated in the Woodbury Ambassadors Royal Family. Nicole was a princess as an eight-year-old and her mother was Senior Queen the following year. The experience is one that really sticks with Nicole. “Every little girl kind of wants to be a princess or looks up to princesses,” she says. “To be one yourself, you are kind of living your fantasy. You get to wear the crown around and your friends get to know you as a princess. It’s kind of like a movie.”
All candidates must reside in Woodbury and are selected during a month-long process leading up to Woodbury Days in August. The chosen candidates are crowned at a coronation ceremony, which begins their year of service before they pass off the role to a new set of ambassadors at the next Woodbury Days.
The program launched in 1980 when the first Miss Woodbury was crowned. Over the years, more roles were added; the program reached the size it is today in 2002 with the addition of Senior King and Queen. In 1995, the program evolved from being a pageant to becoming a scholarship program, as each young woman who is part of the royal family is awarded a scholarship for post high school education.
The scholarship doesn’t come easy, mind you. The Woodbury ambassadors take part in more than 100 events throughout the year, including attending parades, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and volunteering for countless charities like Feed My Starving Children and Relay for Life.
Terri Steigauf, former Senior Queen and current coordinator for the program, says it can be a challenge to fit the role into her busy schedule. “It’s almost a full-time job,” she says. “I am usually the one who keeps the float going. I am kind of a jack-of-all-trades.”
Part of what makes the program so special is the bond it creates. Not only do the ambassadors become a second family during their year together, mothers, daughters and sisters often take part in the program together. Steigauf has three daughters who were all part of the ambassador program before she became the coordinator in 2011. “We really try to promote this program and build the girls to be better people and involved in the community,” Steigauf says.
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The coronation for the Woodbury Ambassadors Royal Family is Monday, August 25 at 7 p.m. at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1583 Radio Drive. For more information, go to woodburydays.com.
