By: Jenna Frisby
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jenna@thevillagereporter.com
The Miss Edgerton Pageant held their “A Night in Vegas” competition in the JH Athletics & Performing Arts Annex on Saturday, July 14th at 6:00pm. The pageant consisted of fourteen contestants competing in their own divisions all with the hopes to be crowned Miss Edgerton 2024.
The pageant began with each contestant group presuming a musical number to a song of their choosing since their theme was incorporated with Vegas.
After each group performed their song and dance all the contestants and 2023 queens came back to the stage for a final first look.
While the girls prepared for their summer wear portion of the contest, the judges were introduced. This year the judges were Ashley Gilker—American Royal Beauties Miss Heart of Ohio, Isabel Xique—National America Royal Beauties Jr. Teen, Nicole Xique—American Royal Beauties Ms. Midwest, Summer Deichler—American Royal Beauties Mrs. Ohio, Dr. Shauna McLain—Ms. Voluptuous Buckeye State, Amanda Sams—American Royal Beauties Ms. Ohio. Each judge was presented, and a brief bio was read about her and her work in the pageant industry.
The contestants in the pageant this year were: Little Miss Contestants Harper Grunden, Grace Waikel, and Avery Everetts; Junior Miss Contestants Paige Hobeck, Leighton Showalter, Layla Lawrence, Alistasia Mocherman, Loretta Roberts, and Madalyn Keppeler; Teen Miss Contestants Abigail Krill and Lanie Cheek; Miss Contestants Cara Schroeder, Alyvia Yoder, and Hope Hamblin.
All the contestants appeared individually in their summer wear. While displaying their summer wear they greeted the crowd, spoke about their interests and hobbies, announced their sponsors, and thanked the crowd for joining for the evening.
Each contestant’s sponsors are as follows: Harper Grunden—Martha Dennison, Grace Waikel—Shepherd & Son Services LLC, Avery Everetts—Everetts Family Farms, Paige Hobeck—Family Protection Group, Leighton Showalter—Nucor Building Systems, Layla Lawrence—Dilly Door Co., Alistasia Mocherman—K&M Transport LLC, Loretta Roberts—K&M Transport LLC, Madalyn Keppeler—Fleo’s Flick’s Drive-in Theater, Abigail Krill—D&S Krill Rentals LLC, Lanie Cheek—Rita’s Family Dining, Cara Schroeder—Schroeder Farms, Alyvia Yoder—Walter Drywall Finishing LLC, and Hope Hamblin—Buckeye Veterinary Hospital.
The program then moved on to the Teen and Miss contestants speaking on their community concentrations. Teen Contestant Abigail Krill spoke on her passion for the girl scouts’ program and how they find problems within the community and fix them.
Most recently she was a part of building and installing two bike racks within the community. Teen Contestant Lanie Cheek spoke about her passion for dental care. She informed the judges with statistics on how many children do not have access to dental care because it is not affordable to all.
This leaves some kids to be made fun of because they have not been given the opportunity to have proper dental care items or training on how to brush or floss.
Her plan is to make dental care bags and distribute them to kids in need throughout the community. Miss Contestant Cara Schroeder shared her passion for bringing smiles to the elderly at the Parkview nursing home right there in Edgerton.
She voiced how she has visited several times and even wrote “Thinking of You” notes that have left a lasting smile on the residents at the facility.
Miss Contestant Alyvia Yoder shared her passion for books and how she realized not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to books to be able to read. Her plan is to work with the Edgerton Public Library to change that in order to get books into the hands of more children.
Miss Contestant Hope Hamblin then shared the importance of dog therapy and why it is impacting her. She shared that she has been able to work with a local therapy dog “Luigi” and his owner and bring him to Edgerton Schools where she was able to witness the therapy of just kids getting to be around him and pet him.
She also shared statistics of how a therapy dog can be impacting to different individuals especially when it comes to those who may deal with anxiety or depression. Her hope is to make therapy dogs more accessible to the community members who need them most.
While the Miss contestants then prepared for their talent portion of the pageant, the 2023 reigning queens came to the stage and played a game of Kahoot! with the crowd. The winner received a $10 gift card to Eric’s Ice Cream.
The Miss Contestants then each performed a talent before the judges. Miss Contestant Cara Schroeder explained the importance of softball equipment and shared what the purpose of each piece of equipment is used for.
She also shared with the judges the ball from her first ever home run hit. Miss Contestant Alyvia Yoder performed a ballet dance that she choreographed herself. She thanked her dance teachers for their help and all that they had taught her over the years.
Miss Contestant Hope Hamblin performed a jazz dance for the judges in which she showed her dancing abilities and passion for dance through her performance.
The pageant then had a 20-minute intermission while the girls prepared for the formal wear portion of the competition.
The formal wear portion of the competition consisted of each of the 14 contestants walking before the judges and crowd while in their most elegant dresses. While they walked, they were announced and a brief bio about them was given.
After the formal wear walks, each Little Miss Contestant and Junior Miss Contestant walked back on stage for the question-and-answer portion of the competition. Each Little Miss and Junior Miss Contestant drew their own question from a basket and gave an answer before the judges.
The pageant then moved into the farewell of the 2023 queens. The 2023 Miss Edgerton Queens were: Little Miss Alexis Barton, Junior Miss Serina Puente, Teen Miss Kaydence Hobeck, Miss Ella Miler, and Queen of Queens Felicity Thiel. Each queen walked before the judges for their final walk as their goodbye message was played.
After their final walks it was time to crown the 2024 Queen of Queens. This crown went to the 2023 queen who completed the most community service hours.
This year all the queens together completed 203 hours of community service. The new Queen of Queens completed 123 of those hours. The new Queen of Queens crowned was Serina Puente.
The pageant then took time to thank a variety of members and businesses within the community who had a part in making the pageant a success from donating time, money, and resources, the pageant couldn’t have happened without the great sponsors of the community.
The awards and crowns were then handed out to each division of the pageant. Each participant received a participation trophy for their hard work and dedication to the pageant.
Awards presented were as follows:
For the Little Miss Competition: Harper Grunden was awarded 2nd Runner Up; Grace Waikel was awarded Best Interview, Miss Congeniality, and Most Photogenic; Avery Everetts was awarded 1st Runner Up. Crowned Little Miss Edgerton 2024 was Grace Waikel.
For the Junior Miss Competition: Leighton Showalter was awarded Miss Congeniality; Layla Lawrence was awarded Best Interview, Most Photogenic, and 1st Runner Up; Loretta Robert was awarded 2nd Runner Up. Crowned Junior Miss Edgerton 2024 was Leighton Showalter.
For the Teen Miss Competition: Abigail Krill was awarded 1st Runner Up; Lanie Cheek was awarded Best Interview, Miss Congeniality, and Most Photogenic. Crowned Teen Miss Edgerton 2024 was Lanie Cheek.
For the Miss Competition: Cara Schroeder was awarded Best Interview; Alyvia Yoder was awarded Most Photogenic, Best Talent, and 1st Runner Up; Hope Hamblin was awarded Miss Congeniality and 2nd Runner Up. Crowned Miss Edgerton 2024 was Cara Schroeder.
Before the pageant came to an end the directors also handed out a few other awards. The Heroes 4 Kindness Award was presented to Cara Schroeder. The People’s Choice Award which raised $227 towards pageant scholarships went to Cara Schroeder. The pageant also held a 50/50 in which the winner received over $1,400.
The pageant directors thanked everyone for coming out and supporting the girls and this amazing event. It truly wouldn’t be possible without the help of the dedicated community of Edgerton.
The crowned Queens of 2024 will also have the opportunity to represent Edgerton and to compete for the crown of Miss Williams County in January of 2025.
