Courtesy Photo

On the night of April 2nd, ten of Sandpoint High School’s finest junior girls competed to be the 2017 Distinguished Young Woman. Nichol Reed rose to the top as the Sandpoint Distinguished Young Woman of 2017. The runners up to Reed were Kelly Curtis, the second finalist, and Amber Laiche who placed third. The roles of the two runner ups are to act as replacements if Reed is unable to go to the state competition.

Curtis, the runner up to Reed, commented about competing in Reed’s place. “State is the cream of the crop. Everyone there won their local competitions which means it is the best of the best [competing],” Curtis said. Because of that she feels the possible opportunity of competing at the state level would make her extremely nervous.

Julie Nolan, the chairman and producer of the Sandpoint Distinguished Young Woman program, accredited Reed’s accomplished win to her intelligence, her poised and well spoken attitude, and to her exceptional skills as a violinist. “[Reed] excelled in the five categories of competition: Interview, Scholastics, Talent, Fitness and Self Expression,” Nolan said in reference to what areas of the competition the three girls had to compete in.  

In October of the coming fall Reed will be travelling to Idaho Falls to compete at the state level. “[Reed] will be an excellent representative of the Distinguished Young Women Program, her fellow participants, and the community of Sandpoint,” Nolan said on the topic of what the next steps for Reed would be.

After the local competition in the beginning of April, the girls now wait till late September and early October to see who will be competing at the state level.