Judges announced for Peony Fest Pageant

VW independent/submitted information

‘The 2019 Peony Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. this Friday, April 5, in the Bagley Auditorium on the campus of The Marsh Foundation. Queen Jubilee XLIV will be crowned that evening and begin her reign over the 2019 Peony Festival. 

The candidates have the special honor of already representing their schools and community by being selected to take part in the pageant. Each year, the Peony Festival Pageant Committee sends area schools in Van Wert, Paulding, Mercer, Allen, and Putnam counties applications to submit one senior candidate to represent their school in the pageant. Every school’s selection process is different, but all selections of candidates are made by the area schools.

Once all candidates have been submitted to the Pageant Committee, the candidates are scored on a preliminary essay and preliminary interview conducted by a panel of three judges. Additionally, they are scored the night of the pageant on poise and presentation, a talent selection, and an onstage question and answer by a separate panel of four judges. All scoring is confidential and maintained by Pageant Auditor J. Richard Sealscott, CPA. 

Candidates are also competing for a scholarship paid directly to the college of their choice, which include a queen’s scholarship of $1,200; first runner-up, $800; second runner-up, $600; talent winner scholarship, $400; Miss Congeniality, $250; community involvement, $250; and most photogenic, $100.  

Tickets for the pageant may be purchased at Touches of Time Antiques at 120 S. Washington St. in Van Wert, as well as at the door the night of the pageant. 

Judges for Friday’s pageant are as follows:

Patrick Kamler is a producer and anchor at WTLW-TV in Lima, and has been part of televised sports in west central Ohio since 2009. He resides in Lima with his wife of five years, Megan. When he’s not wishing for world peace, Kamler is also a pastor at a church in the Allen East area, and spends his free time reading, working out, and taking the occasional (in-focus) picture.

Vaughn Roste, director of choral studies at Purdue UniversityFort Wayne, has nearly two decades of college teaching experience, including previous positions in Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Illinois. Canadian by birth, he holds four degrees, the most recent of which is a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University. 

Roste has had six feature articles published in the Choral Journal, as well as over two dozen other articles elsewhere; 2003 also saw the publication of his first monograph, entitled The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Canadians. 

Amy Price Bromberg works with Athletes in Action (AIA) in Dayton as a local team leader, where she and her team guide college athletes to grow in their Christian faith as they pursue a relationship with God. During her time with AIA, Bromberg has served at the following universities: Central State, Cedarville, Dayton, Wittenberg, and Wright State, as well as Wake Forest and High Point University in North Carolina.

Bromberg played college softball for the Wright State Raiders from 2000-2004, teaming up with her sister, Amber, where she earned All-Conference and All-Academic Team honors, and the Raider SKILLS Award for community service. She graduated with a master’s degree in middle childhood education. Her love for sports bloomed in her playing days at Lincolnview High School, where she was on the Lancer basketball and softball teams from 1997-2000.

She is grateful to her parents, Doug and Frances Price, as well Paul and Doris Price and the entire Price family, for instilling the values of faith, family, and being a team player. Bromberg lives in Springboro with her husband Jason, and they enjoy hiking trails, playing tennis, and serving in their local church.

Brenda Burgy is a former television anchor, producer, and reporter for Your Hometown Stations in Lima. She then went on to serve as the public relations and marketing director for Mercy Health-St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. 

Burgy now owns her own public relations and marketing consulting business and is the proud mom of Derek, a graduating high school senior. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Ohio University.