Couple Named King and Queen at 5th Annual Event

By Misty Cryer

Garth Grizzle and Corina Yrigollen are not strangers to the Janell Whitlock Valentine’s Day Dinner and Dance. In 2024, they were crowned King and Queen. By popular vote, this now happily married couple was named King and Queen again at the fifth annual event held on Valentine’s Day this year at the Pecos River Conference Center.

Hosted by the Age Friendly Communities Council of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, this event pays tribute to the late Janell Whitlock, who was instrumental in Carlsbad becoming the first Age Friendly Community in the state, said JW Sutphin, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s Director of Retirement.

“Every year, we do something different as far as a tribute to Janell,” said Sutphin, adding that Janell was previously a local judge. This year, Carlsbad Municipal Court Judge Collis Johnson spoke at the event. In comparison to previous speakers at the event, Sutphin said, “She has a little bit different perspective of Janell from her work.”

CNB Bank and Financial Security Credit Union sponsored the event. “We appreciate them,” said Sutphin.

This year, PB&J catered the meal. The planned menu included a citrus wine marinated chicken breast dinner with all the fixings, said Sutphin, adding that Golf Society made a cash bar available for guests to buy drinks, with N7 providing security.

DJ Jose Ornelas provided the tunes for the dance. Sutphin said that Ornelas has provided DJ services for the last couple of years. “He plays ‘60s and ‘70s music. Everybody has liked that quite a bit,” he said.

This year, the election of the King and Queen was handled a little bit differently than before. Sutphin explained that the audience participated in choosing the King and Queen once the dance started. “We always have a crown, and flowers, and candy for the King and Queen,” he said, adding that Garth and Corina were selected by popular vote.

About the event, Corina said, “The food was great and so was the music. Everyone danced and had a fun time.”

She shared the following story about how she and Garth met. Corina was at the San Jose Senior Center dance with two friends. She said it was the first time Garth had attended a dance at the center. He asked one of her friends to dance, then asked the other friend. When he asked Corina to dance, she said she answered, “No, I don’t know how to dance that song.” She said he offered to teach her, “So we danced.”

Garth asked her to teach him how to dance to the Spanish music, Corina said. “From then on, we only danced with each other. We go dancing every chance we get and, God willing, hope to continue dancing for years to come,” she said.

At the Valentine’s Day Dinner and Dance event, tickets to the upcoming Dancing with the Eddy County Stars event were given away. The event raises funds for United Way of Eddy County programs that help all of Eddy County. “Stars of Eddy County,” DJ Jose Ornelas and Becky Thompson, competitors in the Dancing with the Eddy County Stars event, took to the dance floor.

The Valentine’s Day Dinner and Dance ran from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with tickets priced at $30 per person. “We do it Saturday night close to Valentine’s, and it falls on Valentine’s this year,” said Sutphin.

He said the evening with a nice dinner, drinks, and a dance is nice to have. “Guys don’t have to worry about making dinner reservations and trying to figure out what to do for the evening,” he said.