Miss Royal City Scholarship Program scheduled for April
ROYAL CITY — The Miss Royal City title is up for grabs April 14. Ana Villafana, Elsa Trujillo Ramirez, Elizabeth Guadarrama, Elizabeth Esparza and Fernando Gomez-Diaz are the five junior girls vying for prestigious honor.
“They’ve all been working hard since January,” said co-chairman Lisa Christensen.
Though many may know the Miss Royal City Scholarship Program by other names such as Distinguished Young Woman and Jr. Miss, longtime program coordinators Lisa Christensen and Sabrina Christensen decided to take a new approach this year in the hopes of making the annual event better fit the Royal City demographic.
The idea to part ways with the Distinguished Young Women organization was due to the continuous changes in rules and regulations enforced at the state and national DYW levels, Lisa explained. The local programs were becoming too closely micromanaged she said.
Though the Miss Royal City Scholarship Program will be independent of a national program, Lisa explained that the same concepts will apply. The girls will be judged in five categories including self-expression, talent, fitness, interview, and scholastics. There will be five judges for the evening, each of which will be non-community members. Scholarships will be awarded accordingly to each of the court winners.
This year’s Miss Royal City theme is “This is Me,” based on the song from the movie The Greatest Showman. During the program, each girl will have a chance to showcase their individualism and etiquette skills, and give a brief summary of who they are. In preparation for the program, the girls will have opportunities to attend other area programs, which will help them get a better understanding of what judges are looking for.
Lisa explained the program would not be possible without the generous sponsor donations and community support. Donations from sponsors are put towards scholarships first and foremost Lisa explained, and also help with some program costs.
“It’s so gratifying for us to see how much money we can give away in scholarships,” said Lisa.
There are also many return volunteers and program veterans who continue to help out and contribute all they can to the program. Lisa said program coordinators are thankful for the elementary school facilities for allowing them to practice there, for preparing sack lunches for all and hosting the program in the gym.
Lisa hopes to incorporate more local talent into the program and invite neighboring town program winners to attend and showcase their talents also.
“It’s a great local, cultural event for the community.”
Tickets for the Miss Royal City Scholarship Program will be available for purchase from each of the contestants as well as at Harvest Foods. Presale tickets are $10. Tickets at the door are $12. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the program to follow at 7.