Cheerleaders head to London for New Year's

This past summer, Whitefish High School cheerleaders Kayli Johnson and Shannon Hawkinson tried out for and were selected by the Universal Cheerleading Association to represent Montana as members of UCA's All-Star team.

Johnson and Hawkinson will travel to London, England, to perform in the New Year's Day parade with other All-Stars from around the U.S. They will also have a chance to explore London from Dec. 26 through Jan. 2.

More than 20 million viewers from around the world will watch them perform in the New Year's Day parade. The UCA cheerleaders will dance and cheer their way past Big Ben, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the Ritz Hotel, Berkeley Square and other well known sites.

Johnson and Hawkinson are seniors who served as co-captains of the Bulldogs' 2007 and 2008 cheerleading teams. They have a combined total of nine varsity seasons between them.

They would like to thank all the businesses around Whitefish that made this opportunity a reality, including Great Northern Bar, the Powell family, Piney Creek Interiors, Savannah's, DePratu Ford, Richard Burnett, Mark Kuhr, Kathleen McGrath, Mike's Conoco, John Crane, Pat Jarvi, Buzz and Ric Anderson, coaches Ashlie Fleming and Micaela LaChance and their families, and Johnson's Hawkinson's families and friends.

Anyone who would like to contribute to Johnson's and Hawkinson's expenses can send donations to Shannon Hawkinson, 2016 East Lakeshore Drive, Whitefish MT 59937.