The last thing Jen Brabec expected to be wearing Sunday night was the crown reserved for Lawrence's St. Patrick's Day Queen.
"I'm in shock," she said moments after receiving the crown. "All I hoped to do was meet a lot of people and raise some money."
Brabec was selected as this year's queen by the St. Patrick's Day Committee, which organizes the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and sponsors several fund-raisers for charity. There are up to 80 committee members.
Brabec, 25, an account executive with KLWN/KLZR radio, was one of six queen candidates. The candidates have spent the past few months helping the committee with the fund-raisers.
The committee announced its queen selection during a ceremony and party at the Flamingo Club, 501 N. Ninth St.
Committee members make their selection by deciding which one of the candidates will best represent them, chairman Steve Cummings said.
"It's a very tough decision," he said. "All of these girls have really helped out. They're all real troopers."
Brabec will reign at Saturday's St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade begins at 1 p.m. and will follow a route from South Park down Massachusetts Street, across the Kansas River to Locust Street, and east to Ninth Street, ending at the Flamingo, Cummings said.
There are usually about 80 parade entrees, Cummings said. Entrees still are being accepted. To enter, call 749-6677.
The committee so far has raised about $21,000 and hopes to raise up to $23,000, Cummings said. Each year the money is donated to a charity that benefits children, he said. The Ballard Community Center, 708 Elm St., is to be this year's recipient.
The money will be used to pay for the center's playground improvements, said Chip Blaser, the center's development director.
Blaser also commended the queen candidates for their work. In addition to fund-raising, he said, they also assisted at the center, providing the children and their families with circus tickets, among other things.
"They have done so much for us," he said. "They are all queens in our eyes."
The other candidates were: Betty Jeffries, 26; Erica Quinlan, 22; Erica Ratzlaff, 20; Lesa Wills, 31; and Suzy Meyers, 22.
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