For Cheryl Smith and Barb Millard, co-directors of the Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant, providing an opportunity for young women to showcase their intelligence, beauty and poise has become an annual commitment.
Now in its third year, the Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant offers opportunities for young women across the state to compete for the chance to win scholarships.
This year, the winner will receive a $500 scholarship to Montcalm Community College, as well as funds from the Miss Heartland Program that will be directed toward college.
“We (Millard and Smith) feel this program is so important to young ladies,” Smith said.
The Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant is affiliated with the Miss Michigan and Miss America organizations, and the winner of this pageant may have the opportunity to compete in state-wide and national pageants.
In addition to the Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant, Smith and Millard are involved with the Miss Heartland Outstanding Teen Scholarship Program.
To compete at the teen level, participants much be 13 to 17 years of age, be a United States citizen, meet the character criteria set forth by the Miss American Organization, be able to meet the time commitment and responsibilities set forth by the local program and Miss Michigan in the event of winning the title.
To compete in the Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant, participants must be ages 17-24, unmarried, attending school or working full-time in Michigan, be a citizen of the United States, and meet the time commitment and responsibilities of the program, as well as for the Miss Michigan pageant.
For the Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant, there are five areas of competition.
“The competitions are in the areas of talent, interview, evening wear, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit competition and on-stage questions,” said Smith.
During the interview competition, each contestant will participate in a 10-minute question-and-answer segment with judges. Contestants will be questioned on areas such as their background, educational and career goals, social issues, interests and hobbies and more.
For the talent competition, contestants will perform a 90-second routine. Possible talent options include singing, gymnastics, comedy monologues and ventriloquism, according to Smith.
During the evening wear competition, participants will wear a cocktail dress, evening gown or pantsuit and scoring will be based on first impression, sense of confidence, personality, stage presence, walk and posture, attire and sense of attractiveness.
A one- or two-piece swimsuit and footwear will be worn for the swimsuit competition.
“Scoring is based on overall first impression, statement of physical fitness and health, overall physique and proportion, walk, posture, grace, sense of confidence and presence on stage,” said Smith of the swimsuit competition.
During the on-stage interview, each contestant will be asked one or two questions and the scoring in this area will depend on how well the extemporaneous questions are answered.
Page 2 of 2 - These areas are the same for the Miss Heartland Outstanding Teen Scholarship Program, with the exception of the swimsuit competition.
In lieu of the swimsuit competition, teen participants will compete in the “lifestyle and fitness” area by wearing black yoga capris or shorts with a tank top and footwear.
The Miss Heartland Scholarship Pageant is limited to the first 25 applicants. The pageant will take place Feb. 9 in Muskegon. The teen program will take place at Montcalm Community College and begins at 2 p.m. on Feb. 9.
For more information, email Smith and Millard at missheartlandscholarship@yahoo.com or visit www.missheartlandscholarshipprogram.org.
Follow Mattie Cook on Twitter @ISSMattie.
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