San Gabriel Valley : San Marino Teen Named Rose Queen

A bubbly, smiling 17-year-old San Marino High School senior faced the glare of the cameras Tuesday as she was named Rose Queen for the 107th annual New Year’s Day parade.

Keli Hutchins beat out 30 finalists and nearly 700 Pasadena-area young women for the honor of presiding over the parade and Rose Bowl game.

“I was absolutely shocked,” she said. “I’m so excited to be part of this 107-year tradition.”

It’s a childhood dream come true for Hutchins. “I’ve been watching the parade since I was a little girl,” she muses. “I would see the float with the queen and her princesses go by and I would say, ‘I’d like to do that someday.’ ”

The naming of Hutchins by Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. President W.H. (Bud) Griest Jr. culminated a monthlong selection process. A group of tournament volunteers made the final decision after selecting a seven-woman Royal Court this month.

Hutchins, a member of her high school dance company and the Senior Advisory Board, hopes to attend the University of Southern California.

Her mother, Tori Hutchins, and her father, Rob Hutchins, seemed more overwhelmed than their poised daughter.

“When I was in the military I jumped out of airplanes, and this was a bigger thrill than that,” Rob Hutchins said.

The announcement came on the 20th birthday of Keli’s sister, Heather, who was a Tournament princess in 1993. . . .