Samanta Gutierrez puts on her crown at this year’s Orange Blossom Festival that is set to take place in Lindsay on April 1
LINDSAY – After living her entire life in Lindsay,Samanta Gutierrez is set to wear her crown as this year’s Orange Blossom Festival queen, highlighting her passion and love for the community this year.
Gutierrez has a long list of school involvement and community building endeavors to her name. As Gutierrez opens up this next chapter as OBF Queen, it also means the closing of a chapter last year’s OBF Queen, Maddie Caesar. In a letter to the city, Caesar bids farewell and highlights her joys of her reign.
On April 1, residents will be able to celebrate not only the attendants, but this year’s honored couple, as well as a newly honored majesty. The event will take place at Lindsay City Park and will begin at 10 a.m. Each attendant issued an essay to the OBF board in order to share their backstory and their love for their town.
2023 OBF QUEEN SAYS HELLO
Gutierrez was born and raised in Lindsay, California. Samanta’s family is her anchor and motivation to continue to pursue her purpose and goals. Beginning with her prime example of hard work and perseverance are her parents. She is the youngest of three children born to Maria and Juan Gutierrez. Her siblings are Alejandra Gutierrez and Jonathan Gutierrez. Samanta is very grateful for her parents and the way they raised her and her siblings. They encouraged them to always try their best in everything they do.
During her elementary school years Samanta attended Lincoln Elementary. Then moved on to Lindsay High School, where she graduated in 2018. Since she was young, Samanta had a meticulous affinity for achieving good grades. In addition to being a dedicated student she was also a dedicated athlete. Samanta played soccer her whole life and partook in other sports such as basketball and volleyball. In high school, she was a part of the varsity soccer team all four years and played varsity volleyball for two years.
Gutierrez was also involved in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and California Scholarship Federation (CSF), both programs that foster the advancement of college and career readiness. Samanta received many awards throughout her years in high school such as The Coaches Award, Offensive Player of the Year for soccer, Honor Roll, received academic lanterns for maintaining a 3.5 GPA or above, and received an academic letter. She is committed to always excelling in school. As a result of her hard work and dedication to her education she graduated in the top 10 of her class.
During her junior year in high school, Samanta had a beautiful experience discovering her faith while attending her confirmation youth retreat. She will never forget how the experience allowed her to strengthen her relationship with God and confirm her place within her parish at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lindsay. After her experience at the retreat, she felt it was important to share God’s love with others and served as a volunteer to help other youth connect and strengthen their faith.
After high school, she attended College of the Sequoias where she played soccer for one year and graduated with an Associates Degree (AA) in Psychology. After graduating from College of the Sequoias, she transferred to California State University, Long Beach to complete her degree in Psychology. However, when COVID hit and school transitioned to online work, she made the challenging decision to take a break from school. Since then she has taken some time off and is currently working at Lindsay High School as an Instructional Aide. She assists learners who may need extra support in their pathway classes.
While having time off of school and working she is figuring out what she will do in the future. She plans to attend college again soon to complete her degree. For Samanta there is no place like Lindsay, she is proud to not only call Lindsay her home but to be able to work with Lindsay learners like herself. In mentoring, she wants others to know that it is okay if your life plans change. Sometimes situations happen and things do not always go as planned. The road to success has many turns and obstacles. Sometimes you need to take time to realize what career truly serves your purpose. Everyone’s life journey is different. Since she is a person of faith, she prays for guidance for her future.
Samanta grew up going to church, having faith, and knowing that God is always going to be by her side. She is eternally grateful for how God has blessed her with life, family, and health. She is excited for what this year will hold and what the future will be like. She would like to thank her family for always being there for her, anyone who has believed in her, the Orange Blossom Festival Committee for always creating memorable events for our community, and most importantly God for everything. She is extremely thrilled to be the 2023 Lindsay’s Orange Blossom Festival Queen
2022 OBF QUEEN BIDS ADIEU
As a farewell, last year’s OBF Queen, Maddie Caesar
The people I have met, experiences I have made and life lessons I have gathered will truly last a lifetime. As my time as the Lindsay Orange Blossom Queen comes to a close, I would like to give my sincere appreciation for the opportunity to represent this beautiful little town in the middle of the orange groves. Through this experience I learned about the past, present and future of Lindsay and how the community keeps traditions alive while continuing to flourish and grow. I have learned that it is the people of Lindsay that make this town so special and unique.
This year was unlike any other and was made extra special by those committed to keeping important traditions alive in Lindsay. A special thank you to the City of Lindsay and the Orange Blossom Committee for your time and contributions into making this a wonderful experience. Thank you to Salinas’ for opening your home and hearts. Through your family I can see what it means to love a community and give back to something so special. My beautiful attendants Dexire, Sandra, Emily and Perla, I loved every second I spent with you girls and am so proud of all the accompaniments you have made and will continue to accomplish. I am so excited to see what the future holds for each of you and hope to see each of you continue to make an impact on this community. Ellen DiChiera-Blumer, my heart warms and my eyes tear up as I say your name. You are a beautiful person inside and out and I aspire to be half the loving, humorous, generous person you are because then I will know I am living a fulfilled life. You have shown me what it means to make a home in a community and I thank you for that. Lastly, thank you to my family and friends for the love and support you have given me, I would not be the person I am today without you.
Congratulations to the 91st Annual Orange Blossom Queen, Court and Honored Couple. I am excited for you all to experience the amazing traditions of Lindsay and be honored for the amazing people that you are. Take the most out of every moment because this is an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity.
As my time as the 90th Orange Blossom Queen comes to an end, I am filled with gratitude, joy and a bit of sadness. Lindsay will always have a special place in my heart because there truly is no place like home.
