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ENTERPRISE, Washington County — Whitlee Holt, a sixth grade student at Enterprise Elementary, was proclaimed the "Kindest Kid in America" during a school assembly last week.
The announcement was part of a schoolwide program focused on promoting kindness.
During the half-hour presentation, headlined "The Great Kindness Takeover," motivational speaker Jessie Hansen talked about how both hate and kindness tend to reciprocate in cycles.
After presenting Whitlee with a framed picture plaque and a bag of gifts, Hansen then read aloud to the audience Whitlee's story from the pages of her recently published 35-page paperback children's book, "Kindest Kid in America: Mama Whitlee."
The book, written by Hansen using information supplied by Whitlee's mother, Randi Holt, is based on real-life anecdotes; even the illustrations closely resemble the actual people in the story.
"When Whitlee was just 5 years old, her daddy passed away with cancer," Hansen said, reading from the book. "It was very sad, but it also made Whitlee even more determined to be kind. She realized that everyone, even grown-ups, had their struggles, and kindness could make life a little easier."
