MINOT — Anne Nicole Nelson Hall was full of glitz and glamour Sunday afternoon as women and girls took to the stage.
Similar to Miss America, Miss Amazing provides opportunities for girls and women with disabilities across North Dakota to build self-esteem and celebrates what they can do rather than what they cannot.
15 girls and women competed in six divisions, but only five participants moved on to the National Miss Amazing Summit.
Samantha Redding, state director for the North Dakota Miss Amazing event, said the participants were from every corner of the state.
“There’s three areas of competition, you could say, or core activities,” Redding explained. “The girls do a short interview with the judges, which is basically just a conversation. We want to work on their speaking, interacting with people they don’t already know, things like that.”
The girls then move on to the performance section of the competition.
“They share their passion presentation,” Redding described. “I try to equate it to a talent in a pageant situation. So just sharing what they’re passionate about. It could be a presentation; it could be a song or a dance.”
Each of the participants then introduced themselves.
The six divisions included Junior Teen, ages 13-15, Teen, ages 16-19, Junior Miss, ages 20-23, Miss, ages 24-27, Senior Miss, ages 28-35, and Shooting Star for ages 36 and up.
Katelyn Major, Minot, from the Junior Teen Division was the first participant to perform, and she sang a song as her performance. Denesse Wilson, Lincoln, from the Junior Teen Division, read an inspirational poem as her performance. Bethany Johnson, Grand Forks, from the Teen Division, sang a song as her performance. Samantha Kolden, Jamestown, from the Teen Division, played a piano as her performance. Grace Redding, Burlington, from the Teen Division, also played a piano as her performance. Amber (Jade) Slaubaugh, Rolette, from the Junior Miss Division, sang a song and played a guitar for her performance. Madysen Stallmo, Grand Forks, from the Junior Miss Division, danced to a song as her performance.
Lacy Thu, Jamestown, from the Junior Miss Division, also danced to a song as her performance. Ashley Hanson, Minot, from the Miss Division, danced with Redding as her performance. Alexis Lautt, Jamestown, from the Miss Division, told the audience and judges about her dogs, and a video was shown of her training them. Sarah Goodman, Grand Forks, from the Senior Miss Division, danced to a song as her performance. Danielle Hartson, Minot, from the Senior Miss Division, gave an informational speech about her disability. Marcie Thielges, Jamestown, from the Senior Miss Division, sang and danced as her performance. Aushata Land, Minot, danced to a song as her performance. Amanda MacCann, Jamestown, played a guitar as her performance.
Wilson, Johnson, Thu, Lautt, and Goodman moved on to Nationals, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee at the end of July.
As of this year, 35 states will participate in the national competition.
