FYI

What: Third Annual Relay for Life Beauty Pageant

When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.-until

Where: The Gathering Place (upstairs banquet room), downtown Meridian

Admission: $5

Additional information: Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. Early registration is encouraged, however contenders may sign up on the day of the event. For more information, call (601) 604-2710 or e-mail tf068@aol.com





Local youth will glam it up this weekend in the fight against cancer.

Proceeds from Saturday’s Third Annual Lauderdale County Relay for Life Beauty Pageant will raise money for the upcoming American Cancer Society fund-raiser, which will be held May 1 at Northeast Park. The pageant is the brainchild of Nicole Dickerson and her daughter, Hannah Eubanks, who was diagnosed in 2003 with lymphoblastic leukemia.

Hannah entered her first pageant at 6 months – and was named Lauderdale County’s Princess at a local Our Little Miss competition – and has held several state and national titles. When looking for a way to raise money for her Relay for Life team in 2006, she and her mother decided to include her pageantry background. On June 5 of that year, Meridian’s first Relay for Life Pageant was presented.

Competition is open to girls in seven age divisions: 0-18 months; 19-35 months; 3-4 years; 5-6 years; 7-9 years; 10-14 years; and 15 years and up. Competition is also open to boys in four age divisions: 0-2 years; 3-5 years; 6-10 years; and 11 and up.

Modeling is not required of participants and make up is optional, said Tina Ford, who is assisting in coordinating this year’s competition. Participants may wear either pageant dresses or their Sunday best, Ford said.

Contestants will be judged on stage projection, facial beauty and appearance. The stage will be marked with the “Front T” formation.

A king and queen will be crowned and two alternates chosen in each age division. Each girl will receive a crown for participating; each boy will receive a special award.

A supreme queen will be chosen in the ages 0-4, 5-9 and 10 and up divisions, while a supreme king will be chosen in the 0-5 and 10 and up age divisions.

A $50 (non-refundable) entry fee is required for the pageant. Contestants may also enter Prettiest Hair, Prettiest Smile, Prettiest Eyes, Best Fashion and Most Beautiful side categories; a $5 fee will be required for each. Participants may also enter Most Photogenic for $5 per photo. One winner for the sides will be chosen in each age division.

“The sides can be double crowned,” Ford said.

While raising funds is the overall objective for the Relay for Life Beauty Pageant, the event is also a tribute to Hannah, as well as Josh Yeager and Johnathan Mars, who both succumed to cancer.

“Johnathan passed away a few years ago at the age of 4,” Dickerson said. “Sadly after my first pageant was held, Josh Yeager passed away.

“After his (Josh) passing I will never forget the pain in my heart and the fear in Hannah’s eyes as she asked ‘Mama, I’m the only one left now. Does this mean I’m going to die, too?’ It is the worst feeling anyone could ever imagine!”

Dickerson said it is heartbreaking for a parent to “sit and watch … unable to do anything to make your child’s pain, suffering and fear go away.”

Dickerson said she made a promise that their family would continue to raise money every year for Relay for Life.

After years of braving treatments at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, as well as at home, Hannah underwent her last cancer treatment a little more than a year ago. Now 13, she remains in remission today.

“She is your typical teen-age girl,” her mother boasts.

“She plays sports, hangs out with her friends, loves to go skating every weekend and talks on the phone – non-stop!”

Hannah will continue to visit St. Jude’s once a year for check ups.

“As a matter of fact, Hannah has an appointment scheduled next month and is very excited to be able to see her doctors, nurses and friends who became more like family after her 2 1/2 years of treatment,” Dickerson said.

“We pray that there are no signs of leukemia in her body and we place our trust in God to continue to heal Hannah,” she said. “It was God and cancer research that saved my daughter’s life, and that research wouldn’t be possible without the support of community events such as Relay For Life.”