Just call her “Your Majesty, Queen Ruby.” Congratulations to Canby High School senior Ruby Kayser, who became the first female student to be crowned Royal Cougar this week at the annual fundraiser and talent show.
Kayser, a key piece of Canby’s surprising volleyball team that finished third in the state last fall, said she was very excited to have won, but also, surprised.
“I put a lot of thought into my events, but I mostly just did the contest to raise money and have fun,” she said. “I’ve been the lead organizer of the Royal Cougar in ASB the last two years so it was super fun to actually be a part of it.”
She raised an incredible $1,431.87 for her chosen cause, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, which has treated over 90,000 injured animals, including thousands affected by the Australian brush fires.
“I’m really proud of the amount of money I raised,” she said. “So many people donated to the cause, and that was really cool to see. It feels like I will have actually made a little difference.”
For her talent, Kayser and junior Daley McClellan (another star member of the Canby Cougar volleyball team) performed a reenactment of the Evolution of Dance Dance.
Kayser shouted out the student members of the CHS Leadership program, including Tatum Peirson, Natalie Doman, Mia Carroll and Leanne Doman, for doing such a great job organizing the event, as well as the event’s hosts, Josiah Keen and Ben Wing, and J.D. Bellum, Canby High teacher and ASB adviser.
“I was also so impressed by all of the talent and effort from the other contestants!” Kayser said.
A total of six other students participated in the Royal Cougar pageant, representing and raising money for six charities of their own: Thirst Project, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Miniature Schnauzer Rescue, House of Dreams, Dreaming Zebras Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund.
The event involved five different categories: talent, lip sync, beach wear, formal wear, and spirit wear. There was a hula hooping contest with beach wear and a fun “cougar facts Q & A” at the end of the pageant. Other talents included singing and impressions of characters from TV and movies.
