{"id":4563,"date":"2011-03-11T01:18:01","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T06:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=4563"},"modified":"2011-03-12T03:35:56","modified_gmt":"2011-03-12T08:35:56","slug":"new-peony-pageant-director-knows-what-its-like-to-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2011\/03\/11\/new-peony-pageant-director-knows-what-its-like-to-compete\/","title":{"rendered":"New pageant director has inside info"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
New Peony Pageant Director Kylie Mills at her "day job" as office manager of the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce. (Cindy Wood\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The glitz. The glam. The girls. It can only mean one thing. It’s time for the annual Queen Jubilee pageant.<\/p>\n

While the pageant will remain largely the same, new pageant director Kylie Mills hopes to bring some of her own flavor to this year’s show, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, in the Marsh Foundation Auditorium.<\/p>\n

Mills is taking over duties from Bob and Cheri Exline, who spent many years shaping the pageant and the corresponding Peony Festival into what it is today. Mills knows she has big shoes to fill.<\/p>\n

“Bob and Cheri Exline are the heart and soul of this festival and pageant,” Mills said. “Without their help and experience, I’m not sure all of this could have been possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have put so many years into the pageant and festival, probably more than anyone can even realize,\u201d she added. \u201cI hope that I can expand upon all the groundwork they have laid down.”<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s pageant committee, consisting of Mills, Karen Pugh, Becki Mollenkopf and Kelly Walker, began planning and organizing months in advance by securing sponsors and preparing applications. Much like anything else, the economy has taken a toll on some areas of the pageant.<\/p>\n

“With the economy the way it is, it becomes increasingly difficult to get scholarship donors for the pageant,” Mills said. “We’re always on the lookout for new sponsors to help build our funds with hopes of giving more scholarships in the future.”<\/p>\n

Regardless of the setbacks, the committee forges on through months of planning and meets with the contestants in late January. Stage decorations are prepared, prize donations are secured, and judges are selected. As the event draws closer, the pace becomes a bit more frantic. “As the big night approaches, we see many long hours of putting together programs, scripts and all the finishing touches to make the night perfect,” Mills said, adding that the committee participates in three evening practices with the girls to prepare them for the big stage, something Mills is very familiar with.<\/p>\n

Mills, a graduate of Crestview High School, was a contestant in the 2004 Queen Jubilee pageant and it was an experience that helped shape the person she is today. “I believe the pageant experience made me a better public speaker and actually made me come out of my shell,” Mills said, adding that although she didn’t win the title, she gained many valuable skills and traits she still uses today.<\/p>\n

“I learned to be proud of myself, and to be confident,” she said, adding that her role as a previous contestant serves as an asset throughout the whole pageant process.<\/p>\n

“I can relate to what the girls are going through,” she said. “I know how much you have to practice and what goes into preparing for that night. If I see someone struggling on stage, I can work with them and show them tricks I learned while I was in the pageant, or things I have picked up since I have been helping with the committee.”<\/p>\n

As a contestant, Mills was mostly unfamiliar with the pageant, but quickly learned the importance of the role of representing her school for the title of Queen Jubilee. Mills heard about the scholarship opportunity from her school guidance counselor. “I thought it sounded like something fun to do in my senior year,” she said, adding that she was up against three other classmates competing to represent Crestview High School that year. “I was so shocked and overwhelmed to have been selected. Little did I know what it would turn into for me.”<\/p>\n

The life of a Queen Jubilee contestant is a busy one, Mills said, and filled with service club meetings, dance rehearsals and honing their talent for pageant night. Mills, who admitted she had absolutely no musical ability, had to get creative in putting together her talent performance. “I thought I could learn a song just for the pageant, but I decided to spare everyone what I am sure would have been an awful performance,” she said with a laugh. Not one to give up easily, Mills worked with a teacher in preparing a monologue of a short story entitled, “I Will Love You Forever.”<\/p>\n

“I put together a video of my life in a media class I was taking at the time,” Mills said, adding that she rehearsed every day for about two months. “Really, all of the girls had wonderful talents and we were all very supportive of each other.”<\/p>\n

Despite all of the rehearsals, nothing could prepare Mills for what she would experience pageant night. “I remember all of the girls being so nervous, but, honestly, we had so much fun that night,” she said. “The bright lights and the glitz and glamour … it was all so amazing and it was an experience that I will never forget.”<\/p>\n

Nowadays, Mills is comfortable behind the scenes helping to prepare the much-loved community event. When she’s not running scripts and ordering flowers, she’s behind the desk at the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce serving as office manager.<\/p>\n

As she becomes comfortable in her new role, Mills said she is hoping to increase the number of contestants for the pageant. “We’d really like to have more schools participate,” she said, adding that there are typically 7-8 contestants in the pageant. “I would really like to see that number increase to ten or twelve,” she said.<\/p>\n

“A statement was made to me once that there was too much work for the girls to do and not enough reward. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” Mills said, adding that all contestants take with them great friendships, self-confidence and lifetime memories.<\/p>\n

“I learned throughout this entire process that being selected is truly a great honor, and it’s not always necessarily about winning,” Mills said. “It’s about making friends, having a great time and being a positive role model to others.”<\/p>\n

Tickets for this year’s pageant are $8 and are on sale at Derry Drugs in Van Wert. Tickets are also available at the door on pageant night. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/independent feature writer The glitz. The glam. The girls. It can only mean one thing. It’s time for the annual Queen Jubilee pageant. While the pageant will remain largely the same, new pageant director Kylie Mills hopes to bring some of her own flavor to this year’s show, which will be held at 7:30 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 17:03:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}