Wednesday, April 4, 2001

Behind the scenes at the Ms. Southland pageant

The sense of excitement of the fifteen Southland Beauty Pageant contestants as they waited for the pageant to begin must rival that of the Miss American contest.

Last-minute touches of lipstick, encouragement from friends and relatives, and quick "fixes" to errant corsages and scarves were evidence to the nervousness of the contestants and the importance of the day.

The judges Cappie Glanton, Debra Fowler, Dr. Tom Williams, Commissioner Greg Dunn, Peter Pfeifer and Janet McGregor met to discuss details and go over the biographies of the contestants. The main topic of conversation this year was how difficult it was going to be to choose a winner from the talented group of contestants.

Once again, Judge Chris Edwards was the emcee for the pageant.

Preparation for the contest is a major event in itself. Helen McNamee, the Georgia Nursing Home Volunteer of the Year, and volunteer Eddie Morgan spent an enormous amount of time decorating the beautiful room. Flowers, archways, and a special "set" for pictures to be made with the Marine volunteers all created a special atmosphere for the event.

Another important part of the behind-the-scenes happenings takes place in the beauty shop. Volunteers from Mary Kay, Angie Brown, Debbie Azzarelli and Cindy Trull, from the on-site Beauty Shop, Diane Medlan and Robin Brandlehner and Jessica Malone painted nails, cut and styled hair and helped with makeup.

The staff at Southland spent many hours coordinating the event and working with the community to make it a success. Precision Trophy, Stallings Frame Shop, Nature's Nursery, Peachtree Florist and Bill Flowers all made donations of flowers, trophies, corsages, and other items.

The Peachtree City Kiwanis and many of the families donated money to cover some of the expenses. The Kiwanis were also on-hand taking pictures. The Kiwanis is an active participant in many of the events at Southland, stopping by to visit, hosting cookouts and other fun events for the residents.

Fayette Christian Church members volunteered to help at the event. Many of the staff members from Southland also volunteered to do "extra duty" for the event.

Donna Wood, whose mother was one of the contestants, volunteered to play the piano for the pageant.

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