(Click on a thumbnail above to read the bio of one of our queens!)

 

The Miss SNPJ pageant is a time-honored Society tradition.  This year’s 2010 pageant will mark its 54th Anniversary.  Many wonderful SNPJ women have held this title, six of them from Lodge 138.  They include: Marlynn Turki Donaldson, Miss SNPJ 1957; Melissa Lawrence McCormack, Miss SNPJ 1991; Allison Engel, Miss SNPJ 1996; Carissa Pabian Boyer, Miss SNPJ 2002; Courtney Pabian, Miss SNPJ 2004; and Shannon Fetcko, Miss SNPJ 2006.  These women have represented the Society with the utmost respect and elegance, and truly showed what SNPJ is all about.

The Miss SNPJ Pageant is held in conjunction with Slovenefest.  This year the dates for Slovenefest XXIX and the 54th Miss SNPJ Pageant will take place July 9th-11th at the SNPJ Recreation Center.  If you haven’t attended Slovenefest or the Pageant in the past, it is definitely something that you should take into consideration for this July weekend.  The weekend is full of great food, great music, great dancing and attaining friendships that last forever.

To be eligible for the Pageant all you have to do is be a single female between the ages of 17 and 25 by December 31, 2010, and an SNPJ member for at least three months.  Next step is to fill out an entry form, and mail it back to the Home Office.  That’s all there is to it! 

The independent panel of judges will be judging on your poise and appearance in an evening gown, communication skills, community service and talent.  Now it’s not required to do a talent, but it does help with your points.  So think of what you are good at.  It can be singing, an art demonstration, dancing, anything that you think of as talent.  Then there will be a separate meeting with the SNPJ National Board Executive Committee which includes: National President, Joseph Evanish; National Secretary, Karen Pintar; and National Treasurer, Robert Lawrence, Jr.  They will then award points based on your activity within SNPJ. 

Points are awarded as follows:
Poise and appearance in an evening gown: 25
Personality and Communication Skills: 25
Talent: 15
Community Service: 25
Activity within SNPJ: 30

Of course, all the ladies will be vying for the coveted Miss SNPJ title.  However there can be only one Miss SNPJ.  But don’t fret; there are other titles that will be awarded.  The young lady who is crowned Miss SNPJ will win a $2,000 scholarship award, an official crown, banner and trophy.  Along with the title, Miss SNPJ will be invited to numerous SNPJ activities near and far.  She will also appear on the SNPJ calendar.

Another great title to carry is that of Miss Activity.  The winner of Miss Activity will be awarded a $1,200 scholarship.  An additional title that is awarded is Miss Talent; she will be awarded an $800 scholarship.  There is also the title of Miss Fraternalism.  Miss Fraternalism is voted on by the contestants themselves the morning of the crowning day.  They vote on the young lady who is most outgoing and shows the meaning of fraternalism, which is what SNPJ is all about!
Your picture will be in the Prosveta leading up to Slovenefest as a contestant.  The young girls of SNPJ will recognize you from this and will look up to you like a role model and tell you that they hope you win or that they hope to be Miss SNPJ one day.  That is something that touches the hearts of all the contestants in years past.  Those young girls will be sitting in the first row on the day of the crowning wide eyed and maybe even dreaming of the day that they too can stand on that stage in front of the entire SNPJ family.

If you are the lucky one that gets awarded the title of Miss SNPJ, get ready for an exciting year of travel and fraternalism.  Have your pearly-whites ready, because your picture will be taken a lot.  Have your dancing shoes ready too, it won’t be an SNPJ function without polka music and dancing!  Keep a journal and or scrapbook of your reign to remember all the wonderful memories, places that you go, and people that you meet along the way.

Even if you are not awarded a title, the experience in and of itself is well worth it.  The ladies are treated like royalty all weekend.  They are showered with gifts and great company.  And as mentioned earlier, you will make friends that will last a lifetime.  You will polka the night away with SNPJ members young and old, that will ask you to dance.  Don’t be afraid, take their hand and go.  If you don’t know how to polka, there are plenty of people around that will be willing to teach you.

So if you are between the ages of 17 and 25, please consider this honorable tradition.  Keep an eye out in the Prosveta and the mail for an entry form.

 

***If you would like to make a donation to the Miss SNPJ Booster Fund, any donation large or small will be greatly appreciated and recognized. Checks can be made payable to SNPJ, noting “Miss SNPJ Pageant” on the memo line, and mailed to Slovene National Benefit Society, Att’n: Fraternal Director, 247 West Allegheny Road, Imperial, PA 15126***