McHenry County contestants and directors find meaning in pageants

Young girls sitting cross-legged in front of the TV watching the Miss America pageant may be drawn to the glamour. The dresses. The crown – how much does it weigh? Are those real diamonds?

But behind the scenes, where Lovena Hunter works, pageants are far from superficial.

“I love seeing the development in these girls. From the day they come to the first practice, to the day they take the crown and then finally give it up,” said Hunter, who recently retired as co-director of the Miss Huntley/Miss Lake in the Hills pageant to become co-director of the Miss McHenry County Fair pageant. “It’s so impressive; who they become. I like to know I played a small part in that.”

Hunter has a 14-year history with pageants but has never seen it from the contestant’s perspective. She said she grew up with little money in Indianapolis, and pageantry was never at the forefront for her.

“My first year doing Miss Huntley, I was actually asked to help design the stage. I wasn’t a director at the time,” Hunter said. “I wanted to do more than just stage design, so I continued to help with Miss Huntley and get involved with other pageants to learn how things worked. I became a committee member, and I was soon helping to grow the Huntley pageant.”

Although she never had to make the walk across the stage in the bright lights, Hunter still owes a lot of her success to pageantry. Through her initial involvement in stage design, she discovered a passion and opened her own interior design business.

Hunter lovingly gushes over the many girls she has seen enter her pageants with great success, not just in receiving a crown, but growing in confidence and social skills.

“The biggest thing is that they’re looking to step out of their box and build their confidence level,” Hunter said. “For Miss Huntley this year, we had 19 girls sign up, but 10 dropped out. Some wait for so many years to do it, and so many can chicken out because they don’t have confidence. This is what the real world is, and they have to try new things outside of their comfort zone. Even those that don’t win are just so proud that they did it.”

One of those contestants dear to Hunter’s heart is Hannah Smith, now Hannah Bohn. She won Miss Huntley the year Hunter had to fight to continue the pageant without the support of the chamber of commerce.

“The real pageant world started for me the year Hannah won,” Hunter said.

Bohn went on to take the Miss Illinois title and competed in the Miss America pageant in 2012, finishing in the top 10. Bohn, whose other titles include Miss McHenry County, Miss Windy City and Miss Chicago, said the pageants are about a lot more than beauty. She attributes her wins to her talent, dancing. The pageants also allowed her to spend a lot of time performing and developing stage presence.

“I matured a lot,” Bohn said. “I was 19 when I was crowned Miss Illinois, and I toured the state, had business meetings and spoke to hundreds of high school students. It was definitely a year of growth and personal development for me. You’re the face of an organization.”

Scholarship is also a big draw of pageants. Bohn has attended McHenry County College and is a student at Northern Illinois University. Thanks to the scholarships that came with the crowns, she said she has not had to pay a penny for her education.

Bohn’s competition days are behind her – she got married May 30, making her ineligible to compete in the Miss America organization. But like Hunter, she is finding a new purpose behind the scenes. Bohn is taking over Hunter’s position to head up the Miss Huntley/Miss Lake in the Hills pageant with co-director Sarah Mitchell.

While Bohn is a pageant alum, Kogan Murphy of Crystal Lake is just starting out.

Murphy is a former Miss Crystal Lake and the current Miss Fox Valley. The 21-year-old recently returned from her second run for the Miss Illinois crown. Murphy finished third runner-up and won the Preliminary Talent Award for a second time for choreographing her own dance.

“I never thought I was a pageant girl, or what I thought that meant,” Murphy said. “After my year as Miss Crystal Lake, I never thought it would be so rewarding, getting into the community and networking and meeting so many talented and beautiful women. I realized it was something I really wanted to do.”

Murphy admits she struggled at first, not winning any titles, but she kept trying. She now has four crowns under her belt, including Miss Gold Coast and Miss Chain O’ Lakes.

For her, the pageants gave her a voice to promote a platform important to her.

“I was bullied in high school, and it was very serious and escalated quickly,” Murphy said. “I was really lucky because I had people in my life that helped me to get through and move on. I’m lucky I had that mindset, but that’s not the case for everyone.”

The current Miss Teen Illinois International 2014, Camille Paddock, who also took the title of Miss Huntley during the pageant June 20, chose a platform-based pageant to spread awareness about her anti-bullying organization Cam’s Dare to Be Different. The Miss McHenry County hopeful was bullied throughout middle school and developed the group as a coping mechanism.

“It turned into something so much bigger than that,” Paddock said. “Now I speak to kids all over the country and inspire them to stand up and be different.”

Paddock attributes her pageant success to her individuality.

“I was just myself throughout the whole competition. I didn’t worry about being perfect and I didn’t try to be someone I’m not. I did my best and had fun out there, and my personality shone through,” Paddock said.

Miss Illinois contestant Chloe Harvey also chose her platform to take her personal experience and use it to help others.

“I was a victim of sexual assault when I was 15. I was able to turn it into something positive,” Harvey said. “Sexual assault awareness and support is very important for people to understand.”

The 20-year-old is the reigning Miss Woodstock and will pass her crown July 10. She hopes future potential contestants won’t buy into the negative misconceptions some might have about pageants.

“I think people think it’s very superficial, but it’s much more about your personality and interview skills,” Harvey said. “My self-confidence has been heightened, and I can talk to people easier. Looks are the smallest portion of the competition.”

While scholarship and the potential to raise awareness about a favored cause are draws for some contestants, Grace Keller, the current Miss Chain O’ Lakes Outstanding Teen 2015, started competing at age 12 to get more involved in the community.

“I really like the service aspect of pageants and though this would be a great way to get involved,” Keller said.

Keller’s ultimate goal is to achieve the Miss America title, but she has another year to compete at the teen level. She recently snagged first runner up at the Miss Illinois Teen.

“The state competition was more intense, and I went against 28 other girls,” Keller said. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to be with such a large group of girls for a week, but I loved everyone, and we all still keep in touch.”

The 16-year-old intends to have a future in pageants and knows they have made a difference in her life.

“Pageants have really helped with my speaking ability, and I’m more comfortable giving my opinion in front of people,” Keller said. “It’s really rounded me out.”

For the Miss McHenry County Fair pageant this year, Hunter said she was excited to take on the challenge with her co-director, Julie Basco.

“We’re a good match. Julie has a degree in agriculture, and so she doesn’t mind the pigs and cows that come with the county fair system. She’s the best half of me,” Hunter said.

Hunter said she wants to mix things up for this year’s McHenry County Fair Pageant and give it a fresh feel in hopes of drawing more girls to the program and more people to the pageant and fair.

“There aren’t enough positive people in the world helping young girls become their best person,” Hunter said. “I learned that from my grandma and I want to give back what was given to me, and I found that through pageantry.”