Gowns abound
Local pageant fills community with unity and pride
S parkling smiles radiate on the stage as each contestant holds her breath during the Fourche River Days Pageant. Each girl, hopeful and confident, has practiced every element of her walking, talking and posture to, hopefully, be named a title champion.
Experienced winners and pageant beginners alike tremble with excitement and nervous tension as every girl has the community rooting her on.The girls find support in the family atmosphere that Fourche River Days Pageant Director Susan McGehee and her daughters, Shelby McGehee and Jessica Mashburn, provide.
The three operate the pageants in the area and are the sole reason the Fourche River Days Pageant was created and has blossomed into the success it is today.
“We enjoy the pageants,” Susan McGehee said.
Mashburn, a longtime member of the Perry County Fair Board, took over the Fourche River Days Pageant alongside her mother and sister.
“I really enjoy meeting new girls and giving younger females the confidence boost of learning new skills,” Mashburn said. “I love when a girl gets onstage who’s never been onstage before, and she wins. I love seeing the pride that girl has.”
Mashburn added that a girl she’s been coaching for a long time, Laura Beth Rogers, was exactly like that. Mashburn said Rogers was always an athletic softball player when they met, and after receiving coaching, Rogers won her very first pageant.
“In my opinion, it takes a lot of confidence to get in front of 100-plus people,” Mashburn said. “It teaches grace, manners, how to win and lose; in fact, the average pageant contestant has a very high GPA and aspirations.”
Mashburn and her sister, Shelby McGehee, both strongly believe that helping girls find poise not only boosts their confidence in themselves, but also the pride in the community.
“I used to be shy, but going through pageants and 4-H Club helped a lot with that,” McGehee said.“It’s a lot easier to talk in front of people and not have the problem of being scared or nervous.”
When they took over the Fourche River Days Pageant, the family believed that community is the very heart of what the event stands for.
“We’re just a very tight, close family,” McGehee said. She added that their teamwork makes the process that much more special.
All the work is done by volunteers from the community and past title holders who are happy to lend a hand, Mashburn said.
Judges will be looking for different outstanding attributes in varying age groups. The younger groups will focus on grace and personality, while the older groups will have an emphasis on philanthropic efforts and verbal presentation. All groups will be judged on positive sportsmanship on and off the stage and how the contestants present themselves.
“Volunteering, in our opinion, is one of the main priorities that a pageant queen should have,” Mashburn said.
McGehee brings ample knowledge to the coaching table because she is a former title queen. The family dynamic that she and her mother and sister share in the Fourche River Days Pageant and other events in Perryville is a strong example of how the locals invest in their community.
“I love helping the little girls walk and do their makeup,” McGehee said. She added that teaching the little ones how to become more confident and break out of their comfort zone is rewarding.
What really makes this particular pageant so special is that it is open to anyone in Arkansas. There is a small entry fee, but it is not an expensive pageant, Mashburn said.
“It’s a great entry-level pageant in a small town,” she said.
The winners of both the junior and senior divisions, ranging from ages 16 to 21, will compete for the Arkansas State Fair Queen title. The senior division winner will also receive a $1,000 scholarship from the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.
The Fourche River Days pageant entry fee is $25, with an optional photogenic category for an extra $5. Age divisions include seven groups: Baby Miss from 0-23 months; Teeny Miss from 2-3 years; Tiny Miss from 4-6 years; Junior Miss from 10-12 years; Teen Miss from 13-15 years; and Miss from 16-21 years. The pageant will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, April 21, at the Perry County Multipurpose Building at the fairgrounds. For more information, email Mashburn at jessica.mashburn@dardanellelizards.com.
Volunteering, in our opinion, is one of the main priorities that a pageant queen should have.”
JESSICA MASHBURN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE FOURCHE RIVER DAYS PAGEANT