Show them the money

Dave Brooks

Nicole Smith isn’t doing it for the fame or vanity.

No, she easily admits, she’s doing it for the money.

Smith is one of 16 girls competing for a range of scholarships

offered in this year’s Miss Huntington Beach Pageant, which will take

place Saturday at Huntington Beach High School.

“It’s amazing how much money you can earn toward college by

competing in Miss Huntington Beach,” Smith said. “Not only are there

scholarships for the pageant winner, there are also prizes for most

photogenic and miss congeniality. It seems like people are dying to

give out money.”

Each year the Miss Huntington Beach organization takes in a

handful or girls that either live, work or study in Huntington Beach

and push them through several months of training and practice to

compete in the winter pageant. Each week the girls meet to prepare

and rehearse, showcasing the talents they’ve prepared for the

ceremony and tightening up their responses for a series of interviews

they undergo with a panel of judges.

“A lot of the process is learning about themselves and Huntington

Beach,” said executive director June Dugmore. “They’re invited to

attend field trips throughout the city. The trips are a chance for

the girls to learn about the places and people of Huntington Beach.”

Last Thursday, about eight of the contestants showed up for a tour

of the Huntington Beach Art Center and a photo with a butterfly

sculpture crafted by Robin Repp that will soon be on display at

Central Park. The following Monday they were introducing themselves

and explaining their platforms at a special luncheon with the

Coordinating Council at the Murdy Park Community Center.

Somewhere in this busy schedule, Smith finds time to keep up with

her studies at Chapman University, where she majors in sociology and

works in the dormitories.

“You could say I keep pretty busy, but I enjoy it,” she said.

For moral support, the Huntington Beach native has her sponsor,

Maureen Sloan-James, manager of 5 Points Plaza. On Tuesday

Sloan-James tried to boost Smith’s spirits as she battled a sudden

cold she didn’t have time to deal with.

“For my talent, I plan to sing a song from the opera ‘Carmen,’”

Smith said. “My music teacher told me to rest my voice until Saturday

and take lots of cold medicine.”

While the competition at the Miss Huntington Beach pageant can be

fierce, Smith said the girls always remain friendly.

Fellow contestant Rebecca Klevens agreed.

“Of course certain girls want to win more than others, but I think

everyone in this contest really believes in each other and wants to

see everyone succeed,” she said. “You don’t necessarily participate

in the pageant to win, you participate for the experience.”

Klevens herself is a busy student, finishing up her senior year at

Huntington Beach High school while preparing to participate in the

winter formal and competing on the school’s softball team.

If she wins she’ll be even more busy. Besides making dozens of

appearances as Miss Huntington Beach throughout town, including a

special float in the Fourth of July Parade, this year’s winner will

go to compete in the Miss California Competition scheduled for this

summer in Fresno. The winner of that contest will go on to the Miss

America pageant.

Volunteer and longtime Miss Huntington Beach coordinator Jim

Sankey said the pageant process and the potential to win big really

drives a lot of the girls.

“Some have been in pageants before, but for many, this is their

first time,” he said. “In either case, you begin to see that this

really does a lot for the girls. A lot of them come to the pageant

without a fully developed self-image and I think they leave knowing a

little bit more about themselves.”

Heidi Booth, a 22-year-old Orange Coast College student and Miss

Huntington Beach participant said she’s grown by participating in the

competition.

“It’s really helped me develop and understand the importance of

being a good citizen,” she said. “Most importantly, I learned that

its absolutely vital to be myself, because when I am myself, I am

honest, true and at my best.”

* DAVE BROOKS covers City Hall. He can be reached at (714)

966-4609 or by e-mail at [email protected].