New Miss Wadena Crowned
The 29th crowning of Miss Wadena had the excitement of the Kentucky Derby. At least two category ties helped make the 2012 running of the Wadena pageant one of the closest ever.
In the end, Halley Maas bested Avery Jackson to take home the crown in front of a crowd of about 350 at Wadena Memorial Auditorium Saturday night.
Director of the pageant Bonnie Kingsley said it is at least the third time mere percentage points separated the top two contestants in the pageant’s history.
Maas replaces Haley Anderson as Miss Wadena and earns a $1,000 scholarship. Jackson gets a $500 scholarship for being named First Princess. Macy Hartman won Second Princess and took home a $250 scholarship.
Amy Fillhouer and Lacena Brown were the other two contestants. Each walked away with $100 scholarships for participating.
The five contestants were judged based on five criteria: a personal interview, talent, evening gown, casual wear and on-state question.
The Wadena-Deer Creek graduate Jackson earned an additional $250 for winning the interview and evening gown portion of the contest. She also sold the most tickets — 94 — to win the Ambassador Award.
Hartman picked up another $200 for winning talent and Miss Congeniality. The soon-to-be senior played Lorie Line’s “Americana Folk Medley” on piano and was sponsored by Neitzke’s Eye Clinic and Cozy Theatre.
The Cove sponsored Maas, Pizza Ranch backed Jackson, Larry’s Family Pizza supported Fillhouer and Hunke’s Transfer and Expressions Salon endorsed Brown.
Kingsley praised the contestants for their hard work and says the experience gained from participating is life long.
“Just the interview that those girls get, I tell ya what, none of them should ever be nervous in any future interview situation because they’ve been so schooled in it,” Kingsley said. “They know what to do.”
Proceeds for the Miss Wadena Scholarship Fund came from the Miss Tootsie Pageant, which saw five area men dress as women in a fight to be crowned Miss Tootsie.
Tom Anderson, known by his stage name as Anita Moregano, won and was on-hand Saturday night.
Because the outcome was decided by the slimmest of margins and included at least two category ties, Kingsley says she and the board of directors will likely meet to discuss possible future changes to the event.
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