 | .On Friday, April 23, twenty attractive young women from all over Miami County, Ohio gathered at the Troy High School Auditorium with the hopes of becoming the 2004 Strawberry Festival Queen. Dressed in their best, the candidates underwent an evening of interviews and talent presentations, competing, not only for the Queen's crown, but also for scholarship money from area sponsors.
The evening began with a welcome from Troy Mayor Mike Beamish and the National Anthem stirringly sung by the newly-formed Strawberry Festival Community Choir under the direction of David Brush. Pageant Chairperson Tammy Bellamy Chaney then introduced the Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening, Terry Naas.
Terry, in turn, introduced the Miami Valley Young Marines who led the parade of candidates down the aisles of the auditorium to take their places on the stage. After the candidates were introduced, Terry Naas presented the 2003 Little Miss and Mr. Strawberry, Bailey Dorn Busch & Nicholas Neumier; 2003 Miss Jr. Strawberry, Brooke Fields, and 2003 Festival Queen, Danielle Jay.
And then the candidates were showcased in their talent selections and onstage interviews. Jessica McCreight of Troy High School was first to perform. In costume, she lamented ungrateful children in the humorous vocal solo, "A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore" from the musical Bye, Bye Birdie. Jaclyn Pickering, also of Troy, spoke of her wish to be a pediatric nurse someday. She also told of her eleven years in Girl Scouting and of her Silver Award.
Dressed in blue, Brittany Gray of Tippecanoe High School performed a lyrical dance based on the blue jewelled necklace, "The Heart of the Ocean," in the movie Titanic. Also from Tipp, Melinda Berger explained, in her interview, her career goal of majoring in early childhood education and teaching in inner city schools.
The next talent presentation was a dramatic monologue by Troy High School's Jessica Adami who portrayed Lady MacBeth in a selection from "that Scottish Play." In her interview, Newton High School's Chelsea Clawson described her family's tradition of performing skits after Christmas dinners. She also said that she enjoyed being Vice President of the Leo Club - a service club sponsored by the Lions - and working with that group in soup kitchens and other service projects.
For her talent presentation, Jerrica Julian of Troy High School sang and danced to the music of Hoku's "Another Dumb Blonde." Piqua's Sarah Labs brought a picture of her horse to show during her interview. She described her hobbies as horseback riding, dancing, and writing poetry, and said that she planned to be an interior designer someday.
Katy Zelnick from Troy was next to perform. While disguising her femininity in a flannel shirt and a baseball cap, she sang the humorous "How Lovely to Be A Woman" from the musical, Bye Bye Birdie. Katie Leffel of Troy told the audience of her dream to be one of the Rockettes someday. She'd also like to be an interior designer.
One of the most enjoyable talent performances of the evening was Leah Bunck's humorous motivational speech comparing life to a hot fudge sundae. Leah, who is a student at Troy High School, used props for her speech, including a dish of whipped cream with a strawberry on top. The next interview was with Troy's Tiffany Carnes, who explained that participating in three Optimist oratorical contests had helped her overcome fear of speaking in public. Tiffany told of her career goal to be a business major with additional studies in sign language and Spanish, and she startled interviewer Terry Naas when she demonstrated some kick-boxing moves!
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