Five Hills royalty spurred to Gatesville for return of pageant

Girls of all ages from infant to high school were dressed in their formal wear and eagerly gathered back stage to compete for the crown. But, this was not the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant. It was the Gatesville Spurfest Pageant which returned after a noticeable absence last year. The experience of the Copperas Cove titleholders was relied upon to help with the return of the event this year and the Five Hills royalty filled multiple roles.
The queens arrived to completely set up the pageant, lining up the trophies, crowns and banners, setting up the judges’ and auditors’ tables, scoresheets and pins. 
Five Hills Ambassador Trisha Stutz met with contestants prior to the pageant to help calm their nerves, set the pattern for the on-stage beauty walk and answer any questions.
“For most of these girls, they had never entered a pageant before, so I was honored to be able to meet with them to help show them a model’s T, serve as a resource , and help boost their self-confidence before they went on stage,” Stutz said.
Stutz, along with Senior Ms. Five Hills Hope Ransom and Ms. Five Hills Heidi Cortez served as judges for the pageant while Miss Five Hills Melissa Sartwell and Teen Miss Five Hills Kendra Hicks served as auditors. 
Hicks, who has competed in pageantry at the national level, understood the tremendous responsibility of tallying the scores correctly. 
“I enjoyed being on the other side of the stage for once, seeing firsthand how a judge views each contestant,” Hicks said. “It really put into perspective how important it is to use the few moments you have on stage to stand out from the other contestants.”
All of the Five Hills royalty were introduced on stage with the opportunity to share information about their platforms of service and performed the crowning of the new queens. 
The royalty were also honored by the Copperas Cove Independent School District for their support of the annual Stuff the Bus event. CCISD Director of Communications Wendy Sledd said the titleholders are integral to the event’s success.
“We honestly could not host this three-day event without the Five Hills royalty. They literally serve as an extension of our staff at this event,” Sledd said. “Collectively, the titleholders contribute more than 100 hours of service at this event talking with shoppers, collecting supplies as they come in, inventorying and packing supplies, shopping to purchase supplies with the cash donations, and more. And then on Monday following they event, they help unpack and sort it all. They are nothing short of amazing.” 
The royalty also filled multiple roles at the Fort Hood Area United Way Luncheon.  Five Hills Ambassador Trish Stutz presented the invocation and Sr. Ms. Five Hills Hope Ransom sang the National Anthem. Ms. Five Hills Heidi Cortez, Miss Five Hills Melissa Sartwell, Stutz and Ransom also served as official “ring girls” in the boxing-themed event.
In royal sightings this week, look for the royalty helping with the cleanup of Long Branch Park in Killeen and making cards for deployed service members at the Killeen Mall’s Cards for Troops event.