As Melissa Willmore’s name kept being announced during the 2010 Strassenbash queen coronation, she did a fine job hiding her emotions. Inside, well, that was another story. “My heart stopped …
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As Melissa Willmore’s name kept being announced during the 2010 Strassenbash queen coronation, she did a fine job hiding her emotions.
Inside, well, that was another story.
“My heart stopped every single time,” she said.
Willmore topped 11 other contestants and was chosen as the 2010 Strassenbash Queen. She was crowned by 2009 Strassenbash Queen Brittany Abercrombie during Saturday’s coronation at Diekroeger Park.
A Wright City High School senior, Willmore was sponsored by Economy Supermarket.
“I am so happy,” she said. “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Willmore also was named Miss Congeniality, an award voted on by the queen contestants. In addition, she won the top speech and evening gown competitions.
She said she is looking forward to her one-year reign.
“The winner is such a great role model and I wanted to be that role model for the community,” Willmore said. “The community service has taught me so much. I am definitely glad I’ve done it.”
This year’s queen competition involved more than just competing in the pageant. Some of the community service performed by the contestants included painting the Diekroeger Park pavilion, working at the Warren County Fair attendance gates and assisting with the Strassenbash setup.
Overall, the number of group and individual volunteer hours topped 1,000 between June and September.
“That is something they should all be extremely proud of,” queen pageant organizer Andrea Vohsen said.
Taylor Jennings was selected as the first runner-up. A senior, she was sponsored by Holiday Inn Express. Jennings also won the top interview competition.
She plans on attending St. Charles Community College and becoming a teacher.
“It really is more than just this pageant,” Jennings said. “We all worked so hard to try to give our best to the community. It was so much fun to do this. I enjoyed every minute of this. I love everyone here. This is fantastic.”
Sophomore Emily Jaboor was chosen as second runner-up. She was sponsored by Victory Tire and Auto.
“I wasn’t going to do it, but I am so happy I did it,” Jaboor said. “It really makes you feel a lot better when you know you are helping out the community. It was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone.”
Lauren Combs, sponsored by Cox and Cohea, was recognized for selling the most tickets. She sold 1,555 overall.
Judging for the speech, interview and evening gown portions was held Sept. 11 at the Wil Heiliger Activity Building.
Parade winners were: J&T Landscaping (business), Warren County Historical Society (floats) and Little Pony (horses).
The winners of the 50/50 raffle were: Sandy Gordinier, first place; Todd VanZuyen, second place; and Dr. Robert Peterson, third place.
This year’s Strassenbash theme was the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” commemorating the 100th anniversary since the book was released.
