The Lady Antebellum song “I Was Here” was an appropriate choice for Brandy Kieper’s talent selection in the 2011 Miss Mechanicsville Scholarship Pageant on Saturday. At the end of the evening, she was wearing the crown. Capturing the titles of Junior and Little Miss were Isabella and Jillian Moncure, respectively.

Megan Isabelle received the Community Service Award for spearheading a blood drive in honor of her 7-year-old brother Mark, who has battled leukemia.

Also winning were:
H Little Miss: People’s Choice, Jillian Moncure, for her artwork, and First Runner-Up, Olivia Grau.

H Junior Miss: Most Tickets Sold, Sloan Minor; Most Ads Sold, Isabella Moncure; Most Votes for Patron Board, Isabella Moncure; Miss Congeniality, Sloan Minor; Essay, Rebecca Hester; and First Runner-Up, Sloan Minor.

H Miss: Most Tickets Sold, Haley Grau; Most Ads Sold, Lindsey Hall; Most Votes for Patron Board, Sammy Florimo; Miss Congeniality, Ashlee Hanson; Talent, Lindsey Hall; Evening Gown, Sammy Florimo; and First Runner-Up, Ashlee Hanson.

Proceeds from this year’s pageant are earmarked for Special Olympics Virginia. Zack Ramsey, one of the athletes, talked about the program and how he enjoys the experience. “It’s a great organization,” he added.

Junior Miss contestants had to submit an essay with the theme, “If I Could Change Places With Someone for a Day.

Little Miss participants were judged during a visit to Paint and Play. Judges watched how the girls interacted with them and the other contestants and how they displayed personality traits.

Career aspirations for the Little Miss contestants were: Allyson Livesay, pharmacist; Kennedy Rowsey, singer; Ava Piland, singer or artist; Kayla Ford, teacher; Jillian Moncure, doctor; Olivia Grau, artist; Hannah Mullen, veterinarian; Sheridan Lambert, hairstylist; Alison Harvey, horse trainer; and Victoria West, teacher.

The talent competition for the Miss Mechanicsville contestants featured: Ashley Gregory, tap dancing to “Great Balls of Fire;” Sammy Florimo, playing “God Bless the USA” on trumpet; Hannah Tibbett, a self-choreographed hula; Lorien Lambert, singing “Popular” from Wicked;” Katie Grimsey, playing “The Entertainer” on the violin; Ashlee Hanson, presenting an original speech about her life, including playing tennis and studying the German language; Haley Grau, dancing; Megan Isabelle, playing the flute; and Lindsey Hall, playing the viola.

The pageant opened with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in a dance routine choreographed by Sarah Mawyer.

Sponsored by the Pamunkey Junior Woman’s Club, the pageant is a Mechanicsville tradition. A near-capacity crowd filled the auditorium at Atlee High School.

(Editor’s note: The names of two contestants — Haley Grau and Samantha Waldman — were misspelled in last week’s edition.)