Five Hills Pageant rehearsal scheduled for Saturday

Special to Leader-Press 

Dawn Hale knows what it means to persevere. The reigning Senior Ms. Five Hills competed three times before finally capturing the crown. On Saturday, she and the other titleholders in the Miss Five Hills Scholarship Program will welcome contestants who are seeking their crowns. 
Rehearsal for the 8th Annual Miss Five Hills Scholarship Program will be held Saturday at the Copperas Cove Civic Center. Even though Hale has competed in the pageant twice before, she was still uneasy about competing on stage in front of a live audience.  
“Pageant rehearsal day is a very important day,” Hale said. “I was nervous about the unknown and the upcoming pageant. Rehearsal helped me better understand how things would work on pageant day and helped answer questions I had. Being able to practice my walk on stage was super helpful. The best part to me was meeting all the other ladies in my age group and learning about them. We formed a bond in just that one day that spilled over to the night of the pageant where we rooted for and supported each other.”  
Contestants will participate in a round robin-style orientation where they will receive their contestant numbers and learn the order in which they will compete on stage. They will receive modeling tips and competition recommendations from reigning royalty. They will also have their photos taken for the full-color pageant program book offer at the pageant scheduled March 27.
Preteen Miss Five Hills Romella Spitzer watched her twin brother, Noah, bring home the crown the year prior and was eager to make it a back-to-back win. 
“I learned so much from practicing at rehearsal. It didn’t feel like we were practicing because it was fun,” Spitzer said. “I was so nervous since I had never been in anything like that before. I learned how much work goes into rehearsal. I learned that practicing helps you work toward perfection, but you will still make mistakes. I made many new friendships that I will cherish forever.”
Copperas Cove Five Hills Junior Ambassador Hayley Sawyer has reigned for two years having been crowned 2019 Junior Miss Five Hills and being selected as the 2020 junior ambassador. 
“At last year’s rehearsal for the pageant, it was bittersweet for me. I felt very sad that my reign was coming to an end, not knowing at the time that I would be crowned the junior ambassador. But at the same time, I was happy for the contestants who would become the new titleholders,” Sawyer said. “I made many new friends when I was helping people get use to the stage and when some of them won, they were as happy as I was to be crowned, represent the community, and make the most of the opportunities they are given.”
The 8th Annual Miss Five Hills Scholarship Pageant will be held on Saturday, March 27, at the Copperas Cove Civic Center. Eighteen titleholders will be crowned with the daytime pageant for younger contestants beginning at 1 p.m. and the evening pageant for contestants ages 9-50 plus years starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 each.