Siloam Springs Dogwood Festival

22 • siloamchamber.com/dogwoodfestival 200 Progress Ave | Siloam Springs, AR 72761 (479) 524-6605 BRANDS WE CARRY • KHS • Terra Trikes • Haro • Catrikes • Masi • Ice Trikes • Del Sol • Bacchetta Recumbents FULL SERVICE BIKE REPAIRS Miss Dogwood set to capture Miss Arkansas crown By Dave Woods NWA Democrat-Gazette B ethany Miller remembers standing on stage waiting for the winner's name to be called during last year's Miss Dogwood Pageant. It was a nerve-wracking experience. "It's just a tricky situation," the 21-year-old queen recounted. "Throughout the day you have become friends with all the girls backstage. You get to know them and you do really become friends. You truly are." Bethany said that she knew she had done well in her tap dancing talent routine. She felt good about her interview with the judges. "I knew I had done my best when I had done my talent," she explained. "My interview went well. I really clicked with the judges." Then, after a long couple of days… and months preparing … the emcee began announcing the results. "It started off with the second runner up," she remembered. "Then they announced the first runner up. I really thought I could have won, or I might just need to try again next year. I really didn't expect my name to be called." Then it happened… a single name was called. Miss Dogwood 2017 is… wait for it… wait for it… Miss Bethany Miller! "Oh, my goodness," she exclaimed. "When my name was announced, I walked up to the front and got crowned. It really surprised me. It's such a moment of tense energy. You can just feel it on the stage." Now, in 2018, Bethany has been involved in the pageant circuit since she was 13-years old. She will compete and represent the Siloam Springs Miss Dogwood Pageant in the Miss America organization's Miss Arkansas competition this summer. She is up to the task. Great to meet the girls "Miss Dogwood was one of the first Miss pageants I competed in," she explained. "I had done Teen pageants many years before that. I was told that Teen and Miss pageants are very different games. I was nervous going in to compete in Miss Dogwood, but once I was there, the directors were so welcoming and made me feel at home. I was able to go onstage and do my best. When I won, and heard my name called, with family and friends in the audience supporting me, it was just wonderful. I was so excited. It ended up being super fun." While fun… don't be fooled. Thousands of dollars in college and university scholarships are at stake. "It was pretty competitive," she said. "I would say the difference in competing in Miss rather than Outstanding Teen is that you are held to a much more mature standard. The interview was more about politics and I had to be in the know on what was going on in America and in Arkansas. I had to know how I would change things, like gun control. My platform is Heart of Gold. I'm all about being healthy from the inside out. There is a lot of news about getting healthier these days. It's about trying to get items in vending machines at schools that are healthier snack foods. Judges would ask me a lot about what I would do in my community to make it a healthier place to live." Apparently, her answers satisfied the competition's judges. Bethany knows she has benefited from her experience with the Miss America organization, The Miss Dogwood Pageant and all of her exposure to the strong young women she has met along the way. "It's so great to meet the girls," she said. "I ended up meeting my college roommate through the Miss America organization. It's really helped me become a more mature woman and meet a lot of really great people that have a lot of things in common." 'A more mature woman'

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