Arcadia High School senior Courtney Chou Lee has been selected as the new Queen for the 2009 New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

It is the second consecutive year that an AHS student will wear the crown, following outgoing Rose Queen Dusty Gibbs (above right).
Like Dusty, Courtney has a love of books and a connection to the Arcadia Public Library, where Courtney has been a volunteer, reading to children as a Book Buddie. Her aunt is Debbie Marks, a Librarian in Adult Services who works with teens. (Click image above right to see video of the unveiling of the Library's latest "Read" program poster featuring Dusty Gibbs.)
Courtney becomes the 91st Queen for the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade the morning prior to the 95th Rose Bowl football game.
Courtney's parents are Ulanda Lee and Dr. Andrew Lee. She has two siblings, Kristen, 19, and Preston, 15.
One of Lee's six princesses, Lauren Valenzuela, is also from Arcadia High. As an official ambassador of the Tournament of Roses, 17-year-old Queen Courtney and her court will participate in approximately 150 community and media functions.

(Click image at right for video of announcement from LATimes.com.)

According to the Tournament of Roses web site, Courtney serves as captain of the AHS varsity volleyball team, president of the Arcadia High Senior Men and Women service group, a vice chairman of the Arcadia Assisteens Auxiliary and is a committee member of the Methodist Hospital Foundation. She also dedicates her time as a Girl Scout and founded the youth philanthropy group, Teens Promoting Stroke Awareness. She hopes to study business at the University of Southern California. She enjoys many forms of dance, including traditional Chinese dancing, jazz and hip hop, and attending USC home football games.
You may also find a complete story on the naming of the Rose Queen at PasadenaStarNews.com.