By Emily Whittle
The Miss Springville/Mapleton competition is a beloved 52-year tradition in our community. Over the years it’s transformed from more of a beauty pageant into a scholarship program that focuses on intelligence and ambition of the candidates.
It also teaches them how to be more confident, compassionate, well-rounded women, and brings out those qualities already present in them. It displays the talent and potential of young women in our community and allows them to improve it as well. It gives them experience with public speaking and answering questions competently under pressure.
There are four different sections in the competition with different weights: interview (15 percent), evening gown (20 percent), talent (40 percent), and onstage questions (25 percent). In recent years, the Miss America program removed the swimsuit portion and raised the weight of the interview portion, again to focus on things that are more important than looks.
The candidates for this year are Talia Call, Keaton Church, Anna Morkel, Emma Mousser, Emily Whittle, and Makencie Cline, who was second attendant in last year’s competition. (Miss Springville/Mapleton 2019 was Kaylie Ross.)
There’s a lot of preparation that goes into a competition like this, but all the candidates are willing to work hard and spend time to ensure that they perform to the best of their abilities.
The second Miss Springville/Mapleton pageant was held in 1969 with 18 contestants. Many things have remained the same between then and now with the pageant: The winner still has a chance to go on to Miss Utah and possibly Miss America, as they did then. The contestants were and still are sponsored by businesses. However, in 1969, a $475 scholarship was awarded to the winner of the pageant, along with “a $100 cash prize, a diamond ring from Duke’s Jewelry, and a colored photograph of herself” (quoted from a newspaper article from 1969).
A lot has changed, but the idea is the same.
To compete for the title of Miss Springville, and to showcase the talent, potential, intellect, and ambition of youth in our community.
The competition will be held on March 21 at Springville High School at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door. (Whittle is a Serve Daily intern.)
