The Connection

The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival is rooted in the spirit of diplomacy. Just ask Alexandria’s Margaret O’Meara, the Virginia Cherry Blossom Princess who was crowned the 2018 Queen on Saturday, April 13, following a week packed with activities focused on the importance and appreciation of other cultures.

“The week-long program in April was a very busy week,” O’Meara said. “This was the week leading up to the announcement of the Queen, and all week long, all the princesses from each state traveled throughout D.C. with Risako Takenaka, the 2018 Japanese Cherry Blossom Queen. We participated in the traditional Japanese Stone Lantern Lighting Ceremony at the Tidal Basin in conjunction with the National Park Service and the new Ambassador of Japan. We had a day of service, during which we planted a tree at the Kennedy Institute. We also read and donated books about our native states at three different elementary schools on Capitol Hill, laid a wreath at the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, visited several foreign embassies and cultural centers, and attended a welcome reception at the residence of the newly-appointed Japanese ambassador, and more.”

The Cherry Blossom Princesses — one from each state, one from the District of Columbia, one from each United States territory, and six international Princesses — met with elected officials, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. There was also a Congressional reception in their honor, where they were officially presented by two United States senators who years ago were Cherry Blossom Princesses themselves.

The Cherry Blossom Princess program was launched 70 years ago by the National Conference of State Societies (NCSS) as a leadership development program for young women committed both to their affiliated states, and to being the best possible representatives of said states.

“I often call this program Washington, D.C.’s best-kept secret,” said Gigi Galbraith, director of the NCSS Cherry Blossom Princess Program. “This is a great opportunity for these young women to represent their states, and the U.S. as a whole. It’s also a chance for them as individuals to promote their own careers and long-term goals.”

To select the Princesses, every state society — each one an organization that promotes its own state or territory with events and other programs in the Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area — holds an application process for young women between the ages of 19 and 24. Applicants must demonstrate their leadership abilities, volunteer work and home state (or territory) pride.

“In my case, since I am a native Virginian and have lived here my entire life, I applied through the Society of Virginia,” O’Meara said. “The application included an essay, a resume, a statement of interest and an interview process. Finally, I was interviewed by Lorraine Nordlinger, the president of the Society of Virginia, and shortly after that, I was named to be Virginia’s 2018 Cherry Blossom Princess.”

O’Meara is a rising senior at Virginia Tech, studying communications and art history. She is involved in a number of extracurricular activities while also holding down a part-time job with the university’s Event Planning Office.

“I volunteer for the Virginia Tech Union, our student-run special events organization, serving as director of public relations and I’m currently vice president,” she said. “I’ve also mentored two groups of freshman communications majors, and served on the executive board of my sorority, as a Panhellenic delegate, and as an ambassador for the Fraternal Leaders Institute. I lead an English conversation group for international students and faculty to help them feel more comfortable speaking in English, and that has given me a greater interest in ambassadorship.”

As a Cherry Blossom Princess, she took ambassadorship to the next level and her ascension to Queen exceeded even that.

“The culmination of the week was the Official NCSS Cherry Blossom Grand Ball and Sushi Reception,” O’Meara said. “That’s where they spun the ‘Wheel of Fortune’-esque wheel to determine the 2018 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen. Then it landed on ‘Virginia,’ and that’s how I became Queen.”

In the spirit of celebrating all these young women, the selection of both the Queen and her runner-up is at random. The only stipulation is that the Queen is always a representative for a place belonging to the U.S., so the international Princesses’ names are left off the wheel. Still, they enjoy the many perks of Princesshood, including a spot on a float at the Cherry Blossom Parade, which always takes place the day after the wheel spin.

“This is not a competition,” Galbraith said. “We spin a wheel to elect the Queen so that these young women learn to develop relationships with one another. This is really important because knowing how to build a network is vital to long term success.”

All the Princesses come away with more than an expanded network, though.

“We visited so many places as part of the program this year,” Galbraith said. “For instance, when we went to Capitol Hill, we talked to them about internship opportunities and taught them how to get involved. They all came away having learned something about what they want to do, and how to do it, that they hadn’t thought of or known before going through the program.”

She added that there are conferences and other events and opportunities throughout the year that are designed for and open to both current and alumni Princesses.

Now that O’Meara’s junior year is behind her in Blacksburg, she is gearing up for a trip to Tokyo, where she will carry out her duties as this year’s United States Cherry Blossom Queen. She is set to depart on Saturday, May 26.

“We will do many of the same kind of things there as we did during the week of the program in Washington, D.C.,” O’Meara said. “It is a two-week goodwill trip and this annual exchange program has a long history of friendship between Japan and the United States. We’ll be traveling to Tokyo and Ise-City. We will meet with Prime Minister Abe and several governors, including the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, the first female in this position.”

O’Meara is particularly excited to see how preparations are going for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where she’d love to return in an official capacity for the Summer Games.

When she returns from Japan, she will join Galbraith in the planning of the 2019 Cherry Blossom Princess Program. Galbraith, a former Iowa Princess, every year collaborates with the existing Queen to formulate the upcoming schedule of events.

“She will come back from Japan and talk to The Society of Virginia about what she experienced abroad,” Galbraith said. “She will also come back next year for the program and be the Queen throughout the week. She will be involved in making some key presentations. Up until next year’s festival, she will work with me to develop the program. It’s a great leadership and planning opportunity because no two years are the same, and it’s always a well-rounded series of events.”

O’Meara will also be her Japanese counterpart’s official liaison next April.

As excited as she is for her trip – her first time in Asia – she will be happy to return to the state that continues to bloom with opportunities for her.

“Alexandria is my birthplace, and Virginia Tech and Blacksburg have been my home away from home for the past three years, so I feel that I also represent Virginia Tech,” she said. “It’s been a great privilege, and a really fun one, to represent Virginia.”

To learn more, visit at www.leadersblossom.org.