Five Hills pageant sees Anytime Fitness as repeat sponsor

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

For the fourth consecutive year, Anytime Fitness in Copperas Cove is stepping up as a sponsor for the Copperas Cove Five Hills Scholarship Pageant. 
The center, located in the Five Hills Shopping Center, is offering the five newly crowned titleholders age 18 and older a one-month membership. The first 150 contestants will each receive a free week pass for the facility. 
Sabrina Collins manages the 24-hour-access fitness center, which offers fitness consultations, group training as well as personal training to its clients. 
“We’re glad to sponsor the pageant this year because we want to get involved with the community,” said Collins. 
Several of the current titleholders stopped by the facility on Thursday, when they had the chance to try out some of the machines and training equipment available to members. 
Cardio buffs at Anytime Fitness can use treadmills, exercise cycles, rowing machine, spin bikes and more, while those looking to do weight training have free weights, circuit training, dumbbells, barbells, and more at their disposal. 
For this year’s pageant, presented by Manning Homes and also sponsored by VFW Post #8677, the theme is Big Dreams Under the Big Top.
The pageant will crown its new titleholders on March 24 at the Copperas Cove Civic Center.  The pageant is open to boys ages 0-8 and girls and women of all ages with registration going on until March 1 at http://www.copperascovetx.gov/parks/five_hills_pageant/.  
Applications may also be picked up at the Copperas Cove Civic Center or access applications via the Five Hills Pageant Facebook page.  
The 2017 pageant awarded more than $74,000 in scholarships and prizes to contestants and winners. W. B. Development returns as the sponsor of the educational savings bonds for the winners of the younger royalty in the Baby Miss through the Pre-Teen categories while Extraco Banks is providing the scholarships for the Young Miss and the Teen Miss winners.  
Every contestant will receive at least $200 in prizes simply for entering, to include tickets to the zoo and museums, certificates to local restaurants and salons, gymnastic, dance and taekwondo lessons and more. Winners will make a myriad of appearances representing the City including riding on the parade float in more than a dozen parades throughout the next year. The Daisy will provide the bouquets of flowers for the incoming and outgoing queens and boutonnieres for the incoming and outgoing kings, and Bill French Jewelers will again provide custom crowns that spell out Copperas Cove in rhinestones
New for this year is a coronation ball following the evening event, with the ball being catered by Bits n Bites Cake Shop, Copperas Cove HEB Plus!, and Starbucks.