Pageant raises funds for special ed school

Beauty, inside and out, was on display earlier this month as 58 contestants from all over DeSoto County competed in the first Miss Heart of Hope pageant benefiting DeSoto County School’s Magnolia School.

The nearly $3,000 raised went to establish an activities fund for Magnolia, a special education school serving the needs of students with emotional and behavioral special needs.

Raising funds at a special needs school can be a challenge, said Jennifer Weeks, assistant superintendent for DeSoto County Schools. Since the nature of the school requires those working with students be highly educated and specialized, there are not many opportunities for outside volunteers. This, in turn, means the school doesn’t maintain a PTO, a group usually tasked with raising funds for things that fall outside the school’s budget.

Weeks said the idea to hold a county wide pageant to raise funds came from her daughter, Gracie, who is a sophomore at Lewisburg High School and the current Miss Teen DeSoto County Magnolia. It was also decided every participant, not just the winners, would get a crown, keeping in line with the event’s spirit of community and generosity.

“We crowned queen, first alternate, and second alternate, third alternate and future queens in each division. Then there were also side awards including most photogenic, best model, and many more. The pageant was open to girls from birth to high school, but we didn’t get any entries from older girls. The oldest was 14,” Weeks said.

Entrants paid a fee depending upon how many events they participated in. The beauty pageant was divided by age starting with infants and toddlers, and continuing up age divisions with no more than two years between the divisions. Admission to the event, held at the Desoto Central Performing Arts Center, was $5 per person.

“The DC Performing Art Center has 300 seats, and I don’t think we had an empty seat. There were so many people, people were standing,” Weeks said.

The event winners were Baby Miss Heart of Hope Marilandree Carter, Toddler Miss Heart of Hope Riley Castellanos, Tiny Miss Heart of Hope Olivia Moss, Dainty Miss Heart of