With nearly 200 in attendance to support, encourage, and share the excitement of all the young girls competing to be Miss Sussex County, the inaugural event held on July15 in Waverly was declared a great success.
Following interviews of the girls aged 4 through 16 by judges Kasey Cosby, Yvonne Williams, and Vincent Robertson, the public was invited into the auditorium at the Jessica A. Moore Community Center at 11 a.m. to watch as contestants revealed their unique personalities through the events leading up to the ultimate selection of the New Miss Sussex County.
Organizers Kristina Carroll, Dr. Phyllis Tolliver, and Mayor Angela McPhaul opened with welcoming remarks before turning the microphone over to 14-year-old Kaycee Carroll, instigator of the event as well as pageant MC.
Kaycee, previous winner of several other pageants across the state, led the Miss Sussex pageant with great aplomb, introducing contestants one by one as they modeled their red, white, and blue Patriotic Wear and elegant evening gowns. The judges jotted down notes and numbers while the enthusiastic applause from the crowd seemed to melt away apprehension on young faces, which was soon replaced with looks of pure joy.
Finally, Kristina took over the mike and revealed the decisions of the judges while Kaycee made the presentations.
Calling forward all the young girls who participated in the community service portion of the competition, she announced, “First, we want to recognize all the contestants that brought in donated school supplies for a total of 4,715 pieces.”
After a pause for applause, she continued, “And the girl who brought in the most and will wear the Crown as Miss Hope is Laila Hunter!”
The six-year-old beamed as Kaycee placed the Miss Hope Crown on her head in recognition of her having collected 200 book bags and 2000 other school supplies for the county.
In rapid succession, a number of medals, sashes, trophies, and crowns were presented.
In addition to Miss Sussex County Hope, Laila Hunter, from Hampton, VA, was also crowned Little Miss Sussex County.
Nine-year-old Waverly native Camryn Turner was awarded the crown of Junior Miss Sussex County.
The title and crown of Teen Miss Sussex County was presented to Ellianna Cypress-Bailey of Surry, VA.
And finally, with the most total points overall, five-year-old Anniston Brayboy from Chester, VA, was named the first Miss Sussex County. She only turned five in March, and this is her twelfth pageant.
Afterward, Kaycee said, “I think it went really well, especially since some of these girls had never even seen a pageant before.” When pressed, she acknowledged that she had collected gowns, shirts, pants, and shoes in all sizes for months beforehand, “in case they were needed. I know how hard it is to afford pageant stuff, so I just wanted to make it easier for everyone who wanted to enter.”
Mayor McPhaul said that she was shocked that 12 girls in the pageant were able to collect 4700 school supplies to be donated to Dr. Tolliver for the Jessica Anne Moore Foundation and to Sheriff Giles to help with his back-to-school backpack giveaway.
“And I just want all the young people out there to know if you think you don’t have a voice, you do!” she exclaimed. “We really didn’t and what to expect as I had never even been to a pageant before. But when Kaycee and Kristina called and said they wanted to do one, I really relied on them to kind of guide me through the process and just supported them where I could. I think it’s just so important for girls in this day and time to have confidence to walk around with their head held high.” “I also think it’s important to remember that it’s not really about a beauty pageant,” she added. “It’s about just having the confidence to try – to put on a dress and put on patriotic wear and to actually participate in an interview. That shows a tremendous amount of confidence.”
Kristina Carroll said afterwards, “They work so hard to prep themselves to come out and do their best. They practice and practice and practice for this so when they get a trophy or sash or when they’re crowned queen a lot of them are so shocked because they didn’t think they were going to win. I love to watch them actually win and come home with the title.”
Dr. Tolliver, when asked about hosting the event grinned and said, “I feel relieved! It went very well, and my favorite part was watching the parents and the grandparents see their children for the first time in their hometown with a pageant that we could bring right here inside the county. I’m really happy and I’m grateful for the turn out and participation and the support.
Several family members shed tears of joy and pride, and one father, Carlton Drew of Waverly, admitted that he had to take a moment outside to compose himself after seeing his daughter in her evening gown.
“It’s a little bit hard to see my daughter up there on the stage growing up like that. She looks so pretty,” he said. “Growing up with the world like it is now you think about things you have to warn them about, and this was a positive thing to do for young girls around here in this area where there’s not too much going on like this. Bringing something like this to the community is good. It gives them a push in their ability – like confidence and handling a crowd of people and maintaining their composure. It builds them up. Positivity. That’s the main thing.” To the remark that many hope the Miss Sussex Pageant will continue, Mayor McPhaul said that plans already are underway for next year, probably near Valentine’s Day to avoid scheduling conflicts for families on vacation with school out.
“I love that this was such a positive, family-oriented event,” she said, “And I didn’t see one instance of bad sportsmanship. Next year, I’d just love to have more girls participating – to get out the word that it’s the Miss Sussex pageant because it’s held here, but it’s open to girls from all over the state. We made sure that the crowns, the sashes, the trophies – the pageant – everything was just first class so the girls will be excited to come back.”
Complete List of Awards
*Annistyn Brayboy, 5, Chester – Miss Sussex County CROWN (Overall Highest Scores), Best Personality, Best Attire,
Prettiest Smile, Patriotic Wear & Gown.
*Laila Hunter, 6, Hampton – Miss Sussex County Hope CROWN, Little Miss Sussex County CROWN, and Interview.
*Camryn Turner, 9, Waverly – Junior Miss Sussex County CROWN, Patriotic Wear, Gown, Best Attire, Prettiest Smile
*Ellianna Cypress-Bailey, 16, Surry – Teen Miss Sussex County CROWN, Interview, Patriotic Wear, Gown,
Best Personality & Best Attire
*Wyndsor McIntyre, 6, Waverly – 3rd Runner Up – Little Miss Age Division
*Isabella Dolan, 7, Stony Creek – 2nd Runner Up – Little Miss Category
*Lily Mae Stainback, 6, Stony Creek – 1st Runner Up – Little Miss CategoryMariah Spady-Gelina, 9, Disputanta – 3rd Runner Up – Junior Miss
*Lila Boole, 9, Wakefield – Interview & 2nd Runner Up – Junior Miss
*Aurora Lilley, 12, Sussex – Best Personality & 1st Runner Up – Junior Miss
*Taraji Brown, 9, Sussex – 4th Runner Up – Junior Miss
*Nyasia Johnson, 13, Waverly – Prettiest Smile & 1st Runner Up – Teen Miss
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