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Pride and pageantry
By JACQUELYN MARTIN
In 4-inch heels, with perfectly coiffed hair and meticulous makeup, Melton and 10 other young women competed in the Miss Pasco/Pasco County Fair Scholarship Pageant. Winners were 23-year-old Melissa Conrad of New Port Richey, who was named Miss Pasco County, and Melton, a 20-year-old Dade City resident, crowned Miss Pasco County Fair 2002. The first runnerup was Heather Johnson, 19, of Wesley Chapel, and the second runnerup was Shannon Ciulla, 22, of Zephyrhills. "I just can't believe it," Conrad said. "I went into this pageant giving everything I had. It was so much work, and I'm so ready for this." The annual pageant is held at the Dan Cannon Auditorium at the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City. Contestants can range in age from 17-24 and are judged on evening wear, talent, an interview and a swimsuit competition that pageant director Connie Jones insists has been "won from the neck up." That might be true, but the question remains: Why would these 10 young women endure so much for a crown? "I had never blow-dried my hair in my life before. . . . For the first time Wednesday I blow-dried, curled and colored my hair," Ciulla said. "I've learned how to interact and socialize with the girls and other people way more than I have before. I never used be a social butterfly." Building self-confidence is the reason most cite for competing. But also at stake are two titles: Miss Pasco County and Miss Pasco County Fair. Both winners earn the right to compete in the Miss Florida Pageant. The victor there gets to vie for the ultimate prize: Miss America. "I started doing pageants because I want to be in the Miss America Pageant," said Marlana Abounader of Port Richey, who has been in pageants for years. "It would be a dream come true." The Miss America Pageant is a goal for many participants. "I think Miss America stands for being really well-rounded," contestant Melissa Conrad said. In addition to the typical pageant training, each contestant must publicize an issue. It can be anything from volunteerism, to 4-H, to protecting yourself from lightning. Conrad's platform, asthma awareness, is personal. She has asthma and researched her platform online in preparation for the pageant. "We encourage them to volunteer, to be active in the community," Jones said. "I think the girls get a sense of community pride of being with other girls in fellowship and coming out with a growing experience in a very positive way. They're some of the finest that Pasco County has to offer." In Pasco, young women can compete in a series of local pageants from birth until age 24. A baby pageant, a pageant for girls up to age 17 and the Miss Pasco/Pasco County Fair pageant are all run by Jones of Dade City. "I just love working with these girls," Jones said. "I love watching them mature, watching 6-year-olds holding their mothers' hands turn into poised women. To watch that over the years is just the most wonderful thing in the world." This year, being Miss Pasco offers more than a boost in self-esteem. It means money for education. Thanks to several new donations, Miss Pasco County 2002 receives $5,000, and Miss Pasco County Fair receives $1,000. The first runnerup receives $350 and the second runnerup $300. Though pageants are often associated with pencil-thin contestants parading across a stage in form-fitting clothing, those involved in the Pasco County pageant say the local contest is a bit different. "Don't try to be a size 2 if your body is a size 4," cajoled choreographer Cristina Bermudez, Miss Pasco 1998. When a contestant celebrated her 23rd birthday, some of the contestants bought her a birthday cake, which promptly ended up smeared on faces during an ensuing cake fight. During a dress rehearsal, contestants dined on pizza; McDonald's food also has been seen in the auditorium. The contestants are told to eat sensibly and get themselves in shape, but their diets are not monitored. "The main thing is to have fun with it," Jones said. "If they don't get out of (the pageant enjoyment of) the experience, then we have not done our jobs. They've won just by doing the performance." The two winners will be busy. "They'll be in parades, on floats -- ambassadors for the whole year. We like them to volunteer and be ambassadors and not just wear that crown," Jones said.
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