Opportunity drawing tickets will be sold until Oct. 31 for scholarship contest; Miss Exeter will be announced on Dec. 1
EXETER – The second Saturday of October has come and gone, but yet still no Miss Exeter has been crowned. She will be, just not until December.
The Exeter Chamber of Commerce announced last week it has decided to push back the selection of Miss Exeter until Dec. 1. The traditional banquet announcing the winners may be virtual or in-person, depending on Tulare County’s status on the state’s four-tier, color coded system.
Five Exeter Union High School seniors are competing in this year’s personal development and scholarship program. They are: Allison Paragien, Brooklyn Blackmon, Lauren McEwen, Samantha Reeder and Solmia Moreno.
The winner will also represent the community at events in Exeter and throughout the area during their one-year reign. Candidates must be an Exeter High School student or live in the EUHS district, be a senior, and a full-time student. Whomever is crowned Miss Exeter will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the chamber. Miss Exeter and her court will each receive gift packets with items donated by local merchants and businesses, as well as a lifetime of memories.
Each candidate will be judged on the following items: A personal essay (500-750 words), a five- to 10-minute verbal presentation via Zoom, a 10-minute special presentation, using photos and slide shows, the sale of virtual raffle tickets for the chamber and participation and cooperation during the candidate process.
You can still support the candidates in their quest for a scholarship by purchasing tickets to the chamber’s Opportunity Drawing, as ticket sales have been extended through Oct. 21, by visiting www.raffle.exeterchamber.com/shop. Raffle tickets are $3 per ticket or $30 for a book of 12 tickets. Sponsors for this year’s Fall Festival are: Exeter City Dance; Exeter Irrigation, A Division of Landmark Irrigation, Inc.; Exeter Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Sally; Garrett German Harvest Wealth Group; Kiwanis Club of Exeter; Nielsen & Associates Insurance Services, Inc and Office Source 360.
Instead of holding a week’s worth of festivities beginning with the Miss Exeter Coronation dinner and culminating with a fun-filled Saturday, this year’s Fall Festival has been dwindled down to a scholarship program to support the future of the community and its most socially distanced activity, a scarecrow contest.
The Scarecrow Contest began on Oct. 1 and runs through the end of the month. Scarecrows must be created from scratch and be in good taste. The deadline to register a scarecrow was Sept. 18 but those who did not build a scarecrow can still vote for their favorites. Voting will happen exclusively on the Chamber’s website. There is a large “vote” button on the home page as well as a link to a photo gallery of this year’s entries.
First place winners in each category (Organization/Nonprofit, Business, Family/Individual, and Youth Group Organization) will receive $75 in chamber gift certificates and second place winners will be presented with a plaque. Best of Show will receive $200 in gift certificates and their name added to the perpetual trophy. Winners will be chosen based on total number of website votes received plus extra credit points for meeting deadlines and completing tasks, along with scores from our anonymous panel of local judges.
For more information, visit www.exeterchamber.com. Opportunity Drawing tickets will be sold until Oct. 31 for scholarship contest; Miss Exeter will be announced on Dec. 1
