Other side of the table

This evening, I had the opportunity to judge the Pride of Williams County pageant and what a fun experience it was! It was neat to be on the other side of the table- quizzing rather than being quizzed. Of the four age brackets, I judge the oldest girls (miss) and the second youngest group (junior miss). I was pretty darn impressed by the poise confidence shown by some of the younger girls. There a ridiculously adorable 6 year old in the youngest age category who just blew me away. She walked that stage like she owned it and introduced herself and answered her on-stage question like a pro. I was very tempted to stash her in my pocket and take her home! :-)

And to top it all off, I met some awesome people. I got the chance to chat with a current titleholder in the Mrs. America system and learned what it's like to compete in Mrs. pageants. I'm not sure I'll ever do them, but it was at least cool to hear the details. Plus, now I get to watch the Mrs. America pageant and say that I know one of the contestants! Two of the other women with whom I spoke at great length are directors for a different pageant in the northwest Ohio area. They ended up inviting me to judge for them in July, so now I get to do it all again. I'm pretty excited- this judging stuff is fun!

Things weren't quite all sunshine and roses, though. Unsurprisingly, there were some sour grapes over the results. Only one girl can win, and apparently, one of the mothers was not happy that her daughter was not crowned because she proceeded to loudly proclaim to anyone within earshot (including myself and some other judges) that the judges "don't know sh**". It didn't upset me because I knew that it was just out of frustration. But still, not a very good example to set for one's child!