Cherry Blossom Princess for 2005 Chosen
The Idaho State Society will be participating in the Cherry Blossom Festival once again in 2005.  This festival has been a part of Washington, DC tradition since 1948, and provides the festivals participants, Cherry Blossom Princesses, with an opportunity to take part in events that focus on education and leadership, and learn about our Democracy up close.  Every Cherry Blossom Princesses knows that they have an equal chance of being crowned the United States Cherry Blossom Queen, as the winner is determined by the spin of the wheel.  While no participant from the State of Idaho has ever been crowned Queen, we are hopeful that luck will fall on Idaho this time around.

Representing Idaho in the festival will be Jenifer Tomchak.  Jenifer is a 1998 graduate of Rigby High School.  She received her B.S. at Utah State University and her J.D. and M.B.A. from University of Utah.  She is currently clerking for Utah Supreme Court Justice Matthew Durrant.  Jenifer is the daughter of Mike Tomchak and Sharilee Shults and the granddaughter of George and Betty Ellis. 

During the Cherry Blossom Festival Jenifer will participate in a full week of events ranging from the Grand Ball on April 5 to a parade down Constitution Avenue.  If Jenifer is chosen as the United States Cherry Blossom Queen, she would also be asked to represent the United States in Japan to dozens of local and national dignitaries.

The Idaho State Society will be honoring Jenifer on April 5, 2005 at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of Fluor Corporation (430 East Capitol Street, SE).  The reception will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  All members of the Idaho State Society are invited to attend.

If you plan on attending the event, please RSVP to Stacey Katseanes at skatseanes@beef.org.

Lucky Spuds Prove to Be Gems on the Basepaths
The 2004 softball season was a season of firsts.  Patrick and I made our first foray into the coaching business, as Assistant Coach and Head Coach, respectively.  For the first time in recent memory, the Lucky Spuds won a game in the playoffs.  And of course, my first PERSONAL experience with the weasely-ness of Ted Kennedy’s staff and their team, the Ted Sox.

This year, with the loss of Jeff Weak, Trent Wright, Brian Wonderlich, and a few other key players, we perfected the arts of defensive softball and the late comeback.  Several newcomers and some timely contributions from a few summer interns helped the Spuds scrape out a few late inning wins that nearly sent me to an early grave.  Perhaps that was the intent: to kill me…

At any rate, we avenged a loss from the 2003 season by defeating Sen. Akaka’s team in the first round of the 2004 USSSL playoffs.  It was a game in which one of our more “seasoned” teammates, George O’Connor, made his 2004 debut, with a triple, a double and a bucketload of RBIs.  His timely hits were key to a particularly sweet victory, the first playoff win in recent memory for the Spuds, and it was fun to watch him run the bases with a total lack of urgency.

Although the Spuds ran out of gas in the next round, all in all, it was a very fulfilling season in which everybody who played contributed significantly.  Special thanks goes out to Chelsey Penrod for her loyal and devoted scorekeeping all season.

It looks like the Lucky Spuds will have our regular core of players returning for the 2005 season.  In addition some of the newcomers reportedly have some skill and experience as well, so things are looking good.  If everyone who has expressed interest actually plays this year, it would not be unrealistic to look for an undefeated season this year.  Thus, my goal for 2005 is 8-0 in the division.  Modest I know, but hey, we are from Idaho.

Within the coming weeks we find out who is in our division, and we will ATTEMPT to schedule our games at this time.  So, keep an eye on the website and we will get our games posted as soon as we can.  If you or someone you know might be interested in joining the team this year, we’d love to have you, regardless of skill level.  Honestly.  Contact me for details at sidney_smith@craig.senate.gov.  See ya at the ballpark!