LISA HOBBS - News Editor
The new Senior Fairest of the Fair Pageant kicks off Saturday at 7 p.m.
Fifteen have signed up in the hopes of capturing the distinction of being the first queen in this category:
Kimmie Keith, Shelia Hutton, Allie Hyatt, Sarah Northcutt, Sonja Winfree, Cathy Bess, Leigh Ann Prater, Melonie Turner, Sandrena Burton, Barbara Dalton, Freda Clifton, Shirley Neal, Glenda Phillips, Vickie Cobble and Kerry Mullican.
“I think a lot of the pressure is lifted, unlike contestants in the Fairest of the Fair, and I hope these contestants just have fun,” said Chairperson Nedra Black, when the pageants were announced in early July. “That’s what I always tell the girls in the smaller pageants, especially if they look a little nervous, I’m like ‘just have fun.’ Don’t think about it as a competition, just have fun. To me, that’s what’s important.”
Senior Fairest of the Fair is open to women ages 30-59. She must have reached her 30th birthday, but not her 60th, by Dec. 31, 2026.