Case Cole, A Senior studying sports management at Florida State University, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Miss Capital City Scholarship Pageant. He, along with last years pageant queen, Jillian Tapper, enthusiastically and hilariously hosted the pageant. I had never been to a pageant until the brothers of the Chi Phi Fraternity decided to start doing pageants as their philanthropy in 2012. Of course, my head was already filled with stereotypes of what pageants, but when Case Cole started to talk about the pageant and the women competing in it, my perception began to change.
The pageant had sixteen girls competing, all of which had different platforms that they were passionate about. Ranging from Relay for Life to Children’s Miracle Network as their philanthropies, it was easy to see that these girls were more than just a pretty face posing for a camera, a bikini ready body strutting across the stage or walking with poise in four-inch heels. “These were a fantastic group of young women to work with, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share the stage with anyone else.” Cole said. His stage presence made it obvious that he wasn’t just saying this to be nice or polite. Cole, his board of directors and his fraternity brothers easily matched the passion that these sixteen women put into this pageant.
The women competed in four different categories, all worth a certain percentage towards their overall score. The contestants were judged based upon their scores of four major competitions: the introduction and opening act, lifestyle and fitness competition, talent competition and evening gown and on-stage question. The talents ranged from singing, dancing, piano, tap-dancing, and one of the contestants even preformed a short monologue and sang a song in French. The most interesting part of the pageant for me was the on stage question. The women had to be both prompt and poised in order to answer their question in a way that sounded intellectual and real. I was rather impressed by how well these women held themselves together, even when asked a question that they were not quite sure how to respond to.
Although a few technical difficulties arose throughout the night, the staff and the contestants maintained a calm and composed attitude throughout the night.
The event was co-sponsored by the Chi Phi fraternity, who helped raise more than $3000 in scholarship funds for the pageant. The winner of the spirit award, Chloe Love and the first runner up, Brittany Johnson, were awarded $500 each, while Miss Tallahassee, Courtney Larkin and Miss Capital City, Tori Cowen, were awarded $1000 each. Both winners will go on to compete in the Miss Florida Competition this summer. “Competing in a scholarship pageant is no easy gig, but these group of young women accepted the challenge head on, and in my opinion, came out of the process with a better perception of who they are as individuals and where they want to take themselves as they progress through life’s journey.” Cole said. Win or lose, it is obvious that all sixteen contestants got a positive experience out of competing in the Miss Capital City Pageant.