Madison Pugh 2018 Peony Festival queen

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Spencerville High School senior Madison Pugh now wears the crown of Queen Jubilee XLIII following her selection at Friday night’s Peony Festival Pageant, which was held in the Marsh Foundation Auditorium.

Pugh, the daughter of Eric and Jennifer Pugh, said she was very pleased to win, but also added that being in the pageant was “a really, really great experience, whether I won or not.

“I’m so happy!” said the newly crowned Peony Festival queen. “I think I would feel this way even if I hadn’t won, because all of the girls are so genuinely nice, and we had such a good time together.”

The new queen said one of the most interesting pageant experiences was learning the opening dance number — which was something totally new for her.

“I’ve never done anything like that before, and it was really fun getting to learn it and practice with the girls, and laughing about us messing up,” she noted.

In addition to her crown, a new dress, and a number of other gifts, Pugh also earned a $1,200 college scholarship.

First Runner-up was Lincolnview’s Lainie Jones, who earned an $800 scholarship, while Crestview’s Gabrielle Emerick doubled down on awards, earning both second runner-up and the talent winner honors — and earning a total of $1,000 in combined scholarships. Paulding’s Abigail English was named both Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic, earning a total of $350 in scholarship money.

Other contestants this year included Sara Zalar of Delphos Jefferson High School, Tabitha Howell of Van Wert High School, and Alisa Elliott of Wayne Trace High School.

Judges for this year’s pageant were Deann Hardeman, June McCullough, Dan Ruckman, and Randi Stevens, while Sean Ford acted as master of ceremonies for the pageant.

Escorts were Keegan Cowan, Brett Schumm, and Steele Stabler, and local CPA Rick Sealscott again served as pageant auditor — a position he has held for more than two decades.

Another more recent feature is having little girls present each contestant with a peony flower, although the younger girls often upstage their older peers. This year’s Little Flower Girls were Raygan Rockwood, Lily Klaus, Emma Campbell, Charlotte Kauser, Mia Miller, Ruby Dicke, and Aubree Mills.

Crown bearer for this year’s pageant was Brody Mills.

Queen Jubilee XLII Katlyn Wendel also performed for the audience and said her final good-byes prior to crowing the new queen.

In addition to being judged on poise, presentation, and talent during the pageant, each contestant also had to write an essay and undergo an interview during preliminary judging. Those scores were then combined with the pageant scores by Sealscott to come up with the eventual winner. Preliminary judges were Trina Langdon, Josh Morales, and Vicki Smith.

The pageant is directed by Kylie Mills, in conjunction with Peony Pageant Committee members Kelly Cooper, Karen Pugh, Hayley Walker, Sarah Worden, and Laurie Zeeff. Ayla Myers was this year’s pageant photographer, while a large number of local businesses and organizations made donations of money or in-kind services to the pageant.