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| 07-23-03: Hehmeyer will reign as queen of festival |
By BETTY LAWRENCE
The Daily Standard
Tiffany Renee Hehmeyer of Celina will reign as queen over this
weekend's Celina Lake Festival.
Smiling through her tears, Hehmeyer was crowned queen Tuesday evening
at a packed Celina schools fieldhouse. Pageant organizers didn't take another chance with
Mother Nature after the event was rained out Monday night and moved the annual pageant
from the outdoor fairgrounds to the indoor fieldhouse.
Hehmeyer, 20, the daughter of Larry and Renee Hehmeyer, is a student at
Ohio University, Athens, and is a 2001 graduate of Celina High School.
She wore a bright pink gown as she sang "Wishing You Were Somehow
Here Again" in the talent portion of the contest. In the swimsuit and evening gown
segments, she caught the judges' eyes in her two-piece yellow swimsuit and glistening
plum-colored evening gown.
Fourteen local women competed in the pageant and an audience of nearly
1,400 cheered on their favorites throughout the full evening of competition.
The pageant had a patriotic theme as outgoing queen Pam Roessner of
Fort Recovery played the flute to the National Anthem at the start of the competition.
Local members of the armed forces in full dress, including members of the Coldwater
American Legion, made an impressive entrance as each escorted a contestant across
the gym floor in the evening wear portion of the competition.
Judges chose another vocalist, Ashley Dieringer, 19, the daughter of
John Dieringer and Kelly Hone of Celina, as first runner-up.
She sang "In His Eyes" in the talent portion and chose a
sleek black glittery gown as her evening wear. Her two-piece swimsuit was white.
Dieringer, a 2001 Celina High School graduate, is a student at Wright
State University, Dayton.
Second runner-up Cynthia Zitter, 17, a May graduate of Fort Recovery
High School, wore a long green gown and flitted a white fan as she performed the operatic
number "The Laughing Song" for the crowd.
For the evening gown portion of the pageant, Zitter selected a red,
glittery form-fitting gown and a colorful red and green two-piece swimsuit for the
swimsuit competition.
Zitter, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Pat Zitter of Fort Recovery,
also was tapped for the $500 Fred Thees Outstanding Interview Award, $400 Outstanding
Talent award and People's Choice award.
Rounding out the queen's court is third runner-up Nicole Muhlenkamp,
17, the daughter of Joe and Julie Muhlenkamp of Fort Recovery.
Vocalists were a hit with the judges as the Coldwater High School
graduate also sang in the talent portion of the pageant. Muhlenkamp wore a long black gown
as she performed the Broadway hit "Not A Day Goes By."
Contestant Kelly Krugh, 17, daughter of David and Denise Krugh, Celina,
received the new $300 Commitment to Excellence award, which was sponsored by former Miss
Lake Festival queens.
On-stage interviews were conducted at the conclusion of the competition
with Roessner asking a question of each contestant about their platform issue. Hehmeyer
chose organ and tissue donation as her platform.
Scores were tallied with 40 percent based on the private interview held
in front of the panel of judges prior to the pageant, 30 percent for talent competition
and 10 percent each for swimsuit, evening gown and overall score. In the overall composite
score, contestants were evaluated on their overall performance and their response to the
on-stage interview question.
More than $14,000 in scholarship money was awarded to the 14
contestants.
As queen, Hehmeyer will receive $2,500 in scholarship money. First
runner-up Dieringer earns $1,200, second runner-up Zitter gets $900 and third runner-up
Muhlenkamp receives $800. All non-finalists receive $300 each in scholarship monies.
Additionally, the Western Ohio Education Foundation provides $4,000 in
scholarships to pageant participants to attend Wright State University-Lake Campus.
Also competing were Karla Prenger, a 2003 Celina High School graduate;
Michelle Truesdale, a 2003 Celina High School graduate; Rachelle Stammen, a 2003 St. Henry
High School graduate; Amanda Springer, a 2003 Celina High School graduate; Sarah Gerlach,
a 2003 Coldwater High School graduate; Rachel Pierstorff, a 2003 Celina High School
graduate; Amber Chapel, a 2003 Celina High School graduate; Nickole Rodriguez, a 2003
Celina High School graduate; and Faith White, a 2003 Parkway High School graduate. |
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