Girl gets chance to meet Dalai Lama

MARSING, Idaho – At first, little Katrina Smit wasn’t sure what to expect when her parents said she’d been chosen to meet the Dalai Lama this month.

But after her mother, Teri Smit, explained to 6-year-old Katy that the Dalai Lama was an important person, she began to get excited.

Katy was chosen by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s Coordinating Council for Families and Children as one of about 20 Idaho youngsters to be honored for demonstrating compassion toward others. They will be recognized during an outdoor ceremony on Monday in Hailey, as part of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s visit to Idaho from Sunday to Sept. 14.

Teri and her husband, Pete Smit, nominated Katy to meet the Dalai Lama for the way she treats her 76-year-old grandmother, Betty Belle. Her grandmother suffered a series of strokes and is confined to bed, but Katy visits every day to read her stories.