Inner beauty matters most, senior pageant participants say

Mavis Lindsey just wanted to see if she could win when she entered the Ms. Geneva County Senior Citizen pageant.

On her first attempt she placed in the Top 10. But on her second attempt last year, the 76-year-old Geneva resident took the crown. She even went on to win first place in the Ms. Wiregrass Senior pageant sponsored by the Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging.

“It was fun,” Lindsey said. “ ... I think it’s an honor to be able to represent your county.”

Lindsey will make her last official appearance as the reigning Ms. Geneva County Senior during the 2009 pageant to be held Friday in Slocomb. This will be the pageant’s sixth year and the first year it has been held outside of Geneva.

“A lot of them were not in pageants in school,” said Robbie Owens, the Geneva Senior Center manager who organized the pageant six years ago. “We have a good time with it.”

There are as many as 20 contestants in this year’s pageant. The women, age 60 and older, will be escorted onto a stage in Sunday attire with the Top 10 contestants each responding to a question.

Annie Wallace, 61, has never been in a pageant, but she’s not nervous because she does perform solos in her church choir. Wallace of Geneva said it’s not the outer beauty that means the most — it’s what’s on the inside.

“Have a good personality and be nice to people,” she said.

Mavis Lindsey agreed. Her advice to this year’s contestants was to relax and be themselves.

“I think inner beauty is what counts the most,” Lindsey said. “Of course, we all like to look at pretty women and handsome men. But it’s inner beauty that’s important — kindness, concern, caring.”
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If you go ...
What: Ms. Geneva County Senior Citizen pageant
When: Friday, June 26, 5:30 p.m.
Where: First Baptist Church in Slocomb
Cost: $4 (proceeds benefit the senior center in Slocomb)