GRAVETTE — The Gravette High School Parent-Teacher Organization is encouraging everyone to attend the 2011 Mister and Miss GHS Pageant on Dec.10 in the GHS Performing Arts Center.

Doors open at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults over 18, $3 for 18 and under, children under 3 are admitted free.

Additions to this year’s program include special pre-pageant entertainment, Mister and Miss Lions Pride awards and a parade of contestant minicars decorated by GHS art department students. Ashley Ketz, news anchor for KSFM-Channel 5 News, will serve as emcee for the event.

Twenty Miss contestants and nine Mister contestants will make up this year’s competition.

Each Miss contestant will be escorted by a GHS student and Mister contestants will be escorted by “future” Mister or Miss GHS contestants. The “future” contestants, comprised of 4 to 6 year olds from the Gravette community, are sure to provide unique entertainment to this year’s pageant.

Pre-pageant entertainment will be a fresh new northwest Arkansas band, Breaking Silence. The group is comprised of members Sidney Patrick, Alex Andrews, Nick Roark and Gabby and EJ Chronister. Their music is a driving acoustic blend of rock, pop and country music that spans generations. The five members of Breaking Silence range from 13 to 16years old but have a sound beyond their years. The individual members have developed their skills on stages in and around the area for the last 10 years. They have been featured at Razorfest, Downtown Bentonville’s First Friday, Roger’s Frisco Festival and other community events.

Pageant awards this year include Mister and Miss GHS, Mister and Miss Lions Choice and Mister and Miss Lions Pride. An experienced panel of pageant judges will determine this year’s Mister and Miss GHS after their evaluation of school participation and academics, interview, formal wear (Miss contestants only) and casual wear. Winners of the Mister and Miss GHS titlewill each receive a $250 scholarship to the college of their choice. First and second runners up will also be named.

The Mister and Miss Lions Choice award is determined by monetary vote. Funds raised are used to support the pageant scholarship program and other PTO sponsored events which benefit GHS students and teachers. The winners of these two awards will receive a cash prize.

A special “Parade of Mini-Cars” project, sponsored by Mollie Hendrick’s Art Department, has brought a new element this year to the voting process for these awards. Each contestant has a specially-decorated cardboardmini-car that will hold monetary votes. The GHS Pageant Parade of Cars is currently on display in the Art Gallery located in the GHS Commons. The display will be moved to the entrance of the Performing Arts Center on the day of the pageant.

The community is encouraged to show support of their contestant(s) by placing monetary votes in the Parade of Contestant Mini-Cars. All contestants have been encouraged to gather votes prior to the pageant, but contributory votes can also be made before and at designated times during the pageant. The Mister and Miss Lions Pride award is determined by participating contestants.

Miss GHS Contestants and their sponsors are: Kennedy Bohannon - Key Club, Jayla Brown - FBLA, Amber Countryman - Art Dept., Hannah Houchin - Science Dept., Skyler Pierce - Choir, Tori Key - Choir, Quincy Curtis - Quiz Bowl, Jessica Denver - FFA, Hailey House - FBLA, Jacquelynn Janes - English Dept., Rachael Morris - Science Dept., Rebekah Morris - NHS, Tatiana Polydore - DECA, Rebekah Rambadt - FCCLA, Ashley Bohannon - Key Club, Jade Elliot - Choir, Carmen Evans - Art, Kayla Holliday - Drama, Shyanne Nichols - Forensics, and Ishtar Vang - DECA.

Mister GHS Contestants and their sponsors are: Aaron Eddy - Drama, Tristen Kahanek - Foreign Language Dept., Cody Robinson - Math Dept., Chase Brody - HOSA, Brendan Culp - Band, Zak Heald-FCA, Connor Houtchens - HOSA, Eric Rambadt- Science Dept., and Seth Rutherford - Skills Dept.

On behalf of the GHS PTO, the 2011 Mister and Miss Pageant Committee would like to express their appreciation to this year’s primary pageant sponsors Kent Leonard, Hendren Plastics, Built-Well Construction and Andrea Kelly, as well as to all who have dedicated countless hours to make this year’s pageant a success. At the time of this article, other pageant sponsors include Paris Presents, Inc., McKee Foods, Serv-Pro of Benton and Washington County, Coty, Inc. and Rapid-Prototypes.

“Please come out and support the contestants, the escorts, PTO and our school by attending the 2011 Mister and Miss GHS Pageant,” stated Kimberly Yarbrough, pageant chair. “Not only is this a worthy cause, this year’s event promises to provide great entertainment !”

School News, Pages 8 on 12/07/2011