By Greg Sherp
Tiffany Sawyer, whose husband, Nathan, is a Army captain in the 43rd Area Support Group, organized the Miss Patriot Colorado Pageant to raise money for the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund. “Believe it or not I was mowing my lawn last summer and I wanted to try to find a way raise money where kids can be involved for other kids who needed money who have lost a parent in the war.”
The Miss Patriotic Colorado Pageant was the first pageant that I have physically attended. To be honest, I felt a little strange as the lights dimmed. Was this going to be a parade of JonBenet? It couldn’t be. There was a rule that banned makeup for contestants 12 years of age and younger, which led to only two or three of the 18 girls to giving off the JonBenet vibe.
I spoke with some of the winners after the pageant, and I think that gaining their insight really helped me enjoy the event. Here’s a bit of the lowdown on the queens of the Miss Patriot Colorado Pageant:
Infant Miss (0-11 months) - Jamie Rose Zwan
Zwan, 11 months, from Fort Carson, Colo., was the only contestant in the Infant Miss division, but one could speculate that it may have been because other infants were afraid to challenge her. She has strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes. Zwan’s favorite foods are sweet potatoes and green beans. Her hobbies include dancing with her grandmother, playing with her dogs, and talking on phone with her daddy who is currently deployed in Iraq.
Toddler Miss (2-3 yrs) - MacKenzee Ward
Ward, 3, from Amarillo, Texas, has blond hair and blue eyes, and her favorite foods are anything and everything. Ward enjoys spending her time riding her bike and hanging out with her cousin.
Tiny Miss (4-6 yrs) - Rabecka Jimenez
Jimenez, 6, from Colorado Springs, has brown hair and brown eyes, and her favorite food is pizza. Jimenez enjoys camping and playing games.
Jimenez feels “happy because this is really cool that I won this stuff and it’s just, I really feel good that I won.”
On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest score, Jimenez says she is “nineish, tenish” because she loves this country. “I love the soldiers and it’s really cool to live here.”
Jimenez didn’t know who and what she was wearing.
Little Miss (7-9 yrs) - Brady Gray
Gray, 9, has blond hair and blue eyes, and she’s proud to be an American “because girls can get a great education.” Her favorite food is cinnamon rolls. This announcement caused an audible “mmm” to spread through the crowd. Gray enjoys playing the paino, snowboarding, karate, dance and double Dutch.
Gray says she entered the pageant because, “You’re supposed to raise money for the soldiers and I think that was a great I idea.”
On a scale of one to 10, with 10 ten being the highest score, Gray says she’s “probably around nineish to tenish.” She gives herself that score because she respects all the soldiers.
Gray didn’t know who and what she was wearing.
Pre-Teen Miss (10-12 yrs) - Coree Marie Williams
Williams, 10, from Littleton, Colo., has dark blond hair and blue eyes. This is Williams’ first pageant, and she has handled it like a pro. She’s proud to be an American because, “a lot of people look up to America because it’s a free country.”
Williams’ favorite food is spaghetti with French bread, and he favorite hobbies are art, dancing, sports, creative writing, outdoor activities and making herself giggle.
On a scale of one to 10, with 10 ten being the highest score, Williams gives herself “ a seven or an eight”. This shocked me because that is the lowest and perhaps the most honest score than the other queens.
Why would she give herself that score? “They are close to my lucky numbers.”
Williams didn’t know who and what she was wearing.
Miss (16-23 yrs) - Marlee Anne Smith
Smith, 15, from Broomfield, Colo., has brown hair and brown eyes. Smith calls herself , “a carbohydrate girl” with her favorite foods being salt and vinegar chip and baked potatoes. She enjoys cleaning to music, working out and going to the Flat Irons Mall with her friends.
Smith feels good about her about her victory because it raised money for a good cause.
One a scale one to 10 , with 10 being the highest score, she give herself a nine. Why? “ I don’t know. Just think that’s what I am I guess.”
I asked Smith about the amount practice she put in for pageant. Apparently this queen doesn’t need it, “I just go out there and wing it.”
Smith didn’t who and what she was wearing.
After the queens were crowned and the crowd cleared, Sawyer reflected on the pageant’s execution: “I think it went ok. I can breathe. I think we had about 18 girls today and they were all pretty excited. They all received a real pretty medallion.”
If you’re wondering why I didn’t tell you what everyone was wearing, there are two reasons. I hope that you remember that none of the winners that I spoke to could answer that question. Moreover, I’m a colorblind man. What do you want from me? The important thing to remember is that the pageant raised $ 2,856.44 for the Children of Fallen Soldier’s Relief Fund.
(Back to top)
