By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
EASTHAMPTON - The annual Junior Miss competition is known for wowing crowds with a little glitz and glam, and this year's theme of "Viva Las Vegas" is sure to up the ante in both categories.
Dressed in sweats and T-shirts, the 16 high school seniors who will participate in this year's scholarship program laughed Friday in the auditorium at White Brook Middle School as they worked to fine-tune their group performances before the Nov. 21 show at the Academy of Music in Northampton.
Organizers of the competition take pains to note that the scholarship program is not a beauty pageant and that the young women are instead measured in a range of categories, including poise, confidence, public speaking, physical fitness and creativity. This is Easthampton's 45th Junior Miss competition.
Each year, participants are judged based on their performance in a group fitness routine, an individual special talent, a self-expression segment and their ability to answer questions rooted in current events.
Christine Corley, who has helped organize the program for 18 years, said she is looking forward to this year's competition because it has a fun theme and a wide variety of individual talents.
"We have girls playing basketball, reading monologues, singing, playing volleyball, playing the piano and some dancing," Corley said. "This is going to be a good year because we have such a great mix."
This time around, 16 young women from Easthampton High School, Hampshire Regional High School and Holyoke Catholic High School are gearing up to compete for a college scholarship. The winner goes on to compete in the Massachusetts Junior Miss Program and the winner of the statewide competition will have the opportunity to compete in America's Junior Miss Program in Mobile, Ala.
This year's contestants are Shealyn Berube and Rebecca Lambert of Easthampton High School; Stephanie Vlohioti of Holyoke Catholic High School; and from Hampshire Regional High School, Jessie Lewis, Margo McCarthy, Kayla Fappiano, Leah Lyons, Abigail Whiting, Shelby Benoit, Carolyn Mase, Kendra Lohr, Elizabeth Cauley, Lisa Mogilka, Caitlin Cauley, Treya Crisafulli and Vanessa Rice.
Jessie Lewis, 18, who is working on a hip-hop dance routine for the talent segment, said a friend at Hampshire Regional recommended that she participate in this year's program.
"I've heard a lot of good things about Junior Miss, and after my friend dragged me to the first meeting I heard that by the end everyone becomes a family and it is a lot of fun," Lewis said.
Another contestant, Abigail Whiting, 17, of Westhampton, who will sing for her talent portion, said she has been looking forward to her shot at Junior Miss since she was a freshman.
"I've been on the varsity cheerleading team since I was a freshman, and every year there has been at least one girl competing, and I've watched them every year," Whiting said.
"I'm really looking forward to going to college because I'm the first child from my family to do it, and winning a scholarship would be a really big deal for my family."
The show goes on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m., at the Academy of Music on Main Street. Anyone interested in buying tickets should visit the Academy website.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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