By By Janet Little Cooper
Thirteen Escambia County High School sophomores and juniors vied for the title of Miss ECHS Friday night as they entertained the crowd with a beach theme, "Down by the Shore."
The theme, chosen by the reigning Miss ECHS, Jordan Smith, allowed the judges and the crowd to see each contestant representing some facet of life at the beach, by the shore or on the ocean.
The contestants were judged on four different categories, each one representing 25 percent of their total score. The categories were theme or casual appearance, physical fitness, eveningwear and personal interview.
The interviews with the judges were conducted earlier in the day and then the top five contestants answered a question on stage for the judges as well.
Judges for the pageant were Beth Henson of Daphne; Bonnie Beviacqua of Daphne; John Helms of the Eastern Shore and Lisa White of Brewton.
Andrea Lindsey, a former teacher at ECHS, tallied the scores for the judges and was also recognized. She along with SGA adviser and 11th grade history teacher, Libby Schrader are founders of the pageant.
"At one time our school did not have a pageant," Schrader said. "We only had the Miss Atmore pageant and it was open to girls from all area schools. The ECHS girls were at such a disadvantage so we created our own pageant just like the other schools. Eventually Miss Atmore died out and we just kept going."
This year's pageant was the 10th and last pageant for Schrader. She is retiring at the end of this year.
First National Bank &Trust and United Bank, supported the pageant and donated a $100 savings bond to Miss ECHS, and $50 savings bonds to the first and second alternates. Winners also received trophies and flowers.