2009 queen Julie Seaman, front, is presented with a bouquet of flowers from 2008 queen Allie Thompson.
“It was incredible and actually very shocking,” Julie Seaman of Northwest High School said in describing her reaction to being named Miss River Days 2009. “I was surprised and thrilled.”
The daughter of Rob and Robin Seaman said the excitement began when she was named to represent her school.
“It’s great. It was amazing. It ended up being just a great summer. “And I love meeting the other girls, having fun and going to community service projects.”
As a community service, Seaman worked for breast cancer awareness.
“It was amazing. It was great just to get the word out on the importance of early detection,” Seaman said.
First runner-up in the evening’s festivities was Kylie Davis of Clay High School, daughter of Bryan and Lori Davis.
“It’s a great experience,” Davis said. “I loved representing my school. I learned so much from the pageant. I’m very confident in myself now. I had a great time doing it.”
Second runner-up was Alexa Pratt of Valley High school, daughter of Aimee and Jodi Elswick and Randy Pratt. She talked about the opportunity to participate through the past summer.
“It has been a good experience. I had a lot of fun,” Pratt said. “I met a lot of new people. I really enjoyed it. It has been great. I was really excited that I did well. I hope they are all proud of me.”
Jennifer Miller of Glenwood High School came away with Miss Congeniality honors.
This year’s Teen Miss winner was Olivia Thoroughman of Minford Middle School.
“I was so excited,” Thoroughman said. “It’s going to be so much fun traveling with some of my best friends. I’m just excited representing my school.”
Olivia is the daughter David and Tonya Thoroughman.
Kristen Kinskey of Valley, daughter of Scott and Lori Morrow and Jason and Amanda Kinskey, was first runner-up, while Gabby Evans of Notre Dame, daughter of Wendy Crawford and Bart Evans took away second runner-up honors.
Shaelyn Vassar of Clay Elementary School, daughter of Scott and Teresa Vassar, took the Junior Miss title.
“I was surprised,” Shaelyn said, when asked how she felt to win the title. “I enjoy it because I make new friends.”
Junior Miss Princess is Taylor Neely, daughter of David and Nancy Ellis.
Little Miss Queen is Olivia Logan of Wheelersburg Elementary School, daughter of Scott and Julie Logan.
Raelen Perry, daughter of Wendi and Sean Perry is this year’s Little Miss princess.
Madison Spangenberg, daughter of Craig and Ashley Spangenberg is this year’s Tiny Miss, while Princess honors went to Morgan Gambill, daughter of Chris Gambill and Sherry Howell.
Bitty Miss is Addison Lemon, daughter of Kyle and Kate Lemon.
Teeny Miss is Taylor Cron, daughter of Todd and Melissa Brisker Cron, while the Teeny Miss Princess is Amaya Strickland, the daughter of Angela Strickland.
Kayden Hopkins, parental information unavailable, is this year’s Baby Miss, and Emma Jo Riffe, daughter of Nick and Ashley Riffe is Baby Miss Princess.
Dylynn Timberlake, daughter of Heather Timberlake, is Wee Miss, and Natalie Roe, daughter of Emily Bradford, is Wee Miss Princess.
Toddler Miss is Layden Sallee, daughter of Casey and Ronnie Beth Sallee. Gabriella Banfield, daughter of Terra Fannin and Nick Banfield, and Jaeylynn Josey, daughter of Michelle Leport and Jamar Josey took home Toddler Miss Princess honors.
“It’s always a really hectic day,” River Days Pageant Director Lori Lowe said. “But at the end, when it’s all finished, it is so well worth it, because we see so many girls who get their princess moment. The big pageant is really exciting because it is like a giant pep rally.”
Lowe said, to her, the highlight is watching the communities come together to support their contestant.
“Most importantly, I see the skills that the girls learn from public speaking, out of community service that they do, the lifelong learning that takes place in the process, is what’s most pleasing to me,” Lowe said.
Lowe talked about the community service aspect of the competition.
“We added it, I think this might be the fourth year, and the feedback that I get from the community, is ‘I had no idea that the River Days contestants did all of this,’” Lowe said. “The girls’ feedback, when they go on to complete college applications is — ‘My River Days experience made a difference. I got into Ohio State because of the amount of community service that I participated in.’”
Lowe said the community service projects added a new dimension to the experience.
“It used to be just about the competition,” Lowe said. “But since we started the community service projects, it has been more of learning to work together.”
FRANK LEWIS may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232.
I get so tired of people trying to make more of these things than what they really are. It's all about pretty girls. That's it. You can say it isn't, but show me an ugly, fat, toothless winner. Heck, I don't care if this is just about pretty girls (I like pretty girls). I just want people to start facing reality and call it what it is. Stop trying to pretend this isn't superficial, or that this is all about scholarships. If you believe that, you've been sniffing too much tiara polish.
As for people complaining about the coverage ... what exactly was wrong with it?
The pageant ended late Saturday so there couldn't have been a full story in the Sunday paper, and since they don't have a Monday paper anymore (booo!) they had to wait until Tuesday to get it in. They explained all that at the top of this article and anyone with a brain understood.
Tuesday came and there was a story,just as promised. They interviewed the winners (got all the names and schools right, I assume) and had a picture. Did you think this needed to take up the entire paper?
I got news for you. It's not that important. It's a fun annual event, but let's not make more of it than it really is. I think the Times did a good job covering the story (fairly and balanced) with the proper weight it deserved.
But then, I don't think this was anything more than a beauty pageant, either.
The parade was beautiful as the bands performed and the floats drove by. The obvious hard work by the contestants and their volunteers and families was seen in the detail and beauty shown in the Mardi Gras theme of the floats.
The entertainment each night was world class and drew great crowds. I believe a great time was had by all.
However, I can not understand why the Portsmouth Daily Times, our only local news paper, did not do a better job covering this event. I was so disappointed when there was very little coverage in the Sunday paper but was told the full story would be in the Tuesday paper. I anxiously awaited the promised edition only to be disappointed once again when there was only one picture and a very small article. It is no wonder people think there is nothing going on in Portsmouth, Ohio. Not even our local news think we are worth covering!