WHEREAS, The annual Daffodil Festival is a cherished tradition for the people of Pierce County and the Northwest; and
     WHEREAS, 2008 marks the seventy-fifth annual Daffodil Festival; and
     WHEREAS, The mission of the Daffodil Festival is to focus national and regional attention on our local area as a place to live and visit, to give citizens of Pierce County a civic endeavor where "75 Years . . . Remembering Your First Daffodil Parade" comes alive, fostering civic pride, to give young people and organizations of the local area an opportunity to display their talents and abilities, to vent citizens' enthusiasm in parades, pageantry, and events, and to stimulate the business economy through expenditures by and for the Festival and by visitors attracted during Festival Week; and
     WHEREAS, The Festival began in 1926 as a modest garden party in Sumner and grew steadily each year until 1934, when flowers, which previously had been largely discarded in favor of daffodil bulbs, were used to decorate cars and bicycles for a short parade through Tacoma; and
     WHEREAS, The Festival's 2008 events are ongoing with the Queen's Coronation on March 14, 2008, and will culminate in the April 12, 2008, Grand Floral Street Parade, winding its way from downtown Tacoma through the communities of Puyallup, Sumner, and Orting, and consisting of approximately 40 float entries and over 80 other entries, including bands, marching and mounted units, and floats that are decorated with fresh-cut daffodils numbering in the thousands; and
     WHEREAS, This year's Festival royalty includes: Princesses Lyndsay Moore, Bethel High School; Sarah Martin, Bonney Lake High School; Olivia Anderson, Cascade Christian High School; Wahayla McCloud, Chief Leschi High School; Brittany Ward, Clover Park High School; Megan Jones, Curtis High School; Kate McKee, Eatonville High School; Anna Anderson, Emerald Ridge High School; Katie Berry, Fife High School; Janice Rim, Franklin Pierce High School; Gloria Bleakley, Graham-Kapowsin High School; Alexandria Batdorf, Henry Foss High School; Kelli Bornander, Lakes High School; Jasrael Stokes, Lincoln High School; Amber Perez, Mt. Tahoma High School; Tessa Grossnickle, Orting High School; Jessica Merrell, Puyallup High School; Katie Potasky, Rogers High School; Lainy Hanson, Spanaway Lake High School; Justine Gray, Stadium High School; Alysha Barry, Sumner High School; Courtney Price, Wilson High School; and Nicolle Thompson, Washington High School;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize and honor the many contributions made to our state by the Daffodil Festival and its organizers for the past seventy-five years; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the 2008 Daffodil Festival Officers and to the members of the Festival Royalty.