Miss Missouri Talent Review Comes To Kahoka To Remember A Friend
A memorial benefit show, “A Night of Remembrance,” will be held Saturday evening, May 3rd at the Clark County R-1 Middle School in Kahoka, MO in memory of Abby Scott, Miss Northeast Missouri 2007, who died in a car accident November 20, 2007.
The special event is being planned by Tara Osseck and Keitt Stathem, two contestants who competed with Abby during the 2007 Miss Missouri Pageant. Also assisting in planning the event is former Kahoka resident Gary Bogener, one of the original co-directors of the Miss Clark County Pageant, who now lives in St. Louis and is director of the Miss Gateway St. Louis / Miss Gateway to the West Scholarship Program.
The program will feature Kahoka resident HL Plenge and will be hosted by Miss Missouri 2007 Lindsay Casmaer, of St. Louis; Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen 2007 Mary Bauer of Cape Girardeau; and Stacie Coolie-Harkin, Miss Missouri 2005 of St. Louis. The talent review will also feature 13 local titleholders from all areas of the state who either competed with Abby during the 2007 Miss Missouri Pageant, or are preparing to compete for the 2008 Miss Missouri title this June in Mexico, MO.
“Although I only knew Abby for a short while, she made a lasting impression on my life that I will carry with me always,” said Osseck, who was Miss Kirksville 2007 and this year is Miss Gateway St. Louis 2008. “Abby had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the world when she spoke to you. She had a genuine smile that could light up a room. And her passion for giving back to the community was unparalleled. Abby’s dedication, ambition, and spirit deserve to be honored and celebrated, and in speaking with Abby’s family and friends, Keitt and I decided that this benefit show would be the perfect way to achieve this. It is our hope to celebrate Abby’s memory with those who knew her, and for those who did not have the opportunity to know her, to introduce a legacy that will be with Kahoka forever.”
Proceeds from the show will be divided among three scholarship endeavors: The Abigail Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund that was established last year; a Miss Missouri 2008 “Newcomer of the Year” award that will recognize a first time contestant at Miss Missouri in June; and also proceeds will be provided to the scholarship fund of the new pageant that is currently being reorganized and will be held next year
The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 3rd. Tickets are $5.00 and available at the door. Even though the event is the same day as the Black Hawk Elementary annual PTO Carnival, it is hoped people will also support the benefit show by attending the PTO Carnival, which starts at 4:30 p.m., and then attending the show at the Middle School.
In addition to the Saturday night program, Lindsay Casmaer, the current Miss Missouri, will be in Kahoka on Friday, May 2nd to bring the “Right Decisions, Right Now” program to the Clark County R-1 Middle School. Lindsay has traveled extensively throughout the state of Missouri since being awarded the Miss Missouri 2007 title ten months ago. The “Right Decisions, Right Now” program is a program which helps students make good choices in their personal lives, with particular focus on the perils of smoking, underage drinking and drug use.
The benefit’s organizers are also trying to schedule several of the titleholders to arrive a day early on May 2nd to visit classrooms in Clark County and Scotland County schools. It is also hoped that an informational session can be planned for teens and young women interested in competing at the reorganized pageant next year.
The organizers are already getting support from the community for providing lodging and meals for the participants traveling to Kahoka from throughout the state, and the CCR-1 Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization has also pledged their help. Future details of the show will be released in the coming weeks.
