Saturday night the Miss Minden & Miss Spirit of Fasching Scholarship Competition, hosted by the Young Women’s Service Club, took place where eight young women competed in a variety of different categories in order to determine who would be the best fit to represent our town with the titles of Miss Minden, Miss Spirit of Fasching, and Outstanding Teen. The Mistress of Ceremonies for this year’s event was none other than Miss Louisiana 2023, Makenzie Scroggs.
After three rounds of competition in talent, fitness, and evening gowns, the judges selected Maison Wilbanks to be crowned as the 71st Miss Minden. Shortly after being granted the title of Miss Minden, Wilbanks had this to say.
“I’m feeling so proud, honored, and blessed, and just want to say thank you so much to God for giving me this opportunity. Always keep in mind ⅠPeter 3:3-4: That it’s not about the gold you wear and the clothing that you wear, but it’s what’s within your heart, and I just empower every young girl out there that that’s all that matters,” said Wilbanks.
The other coveted title these young women were competing for was one that represents Minden’s German heritage, that being Miss Spirit of Fasching. The judges determined this year’s Miss Spirit of Fasching to be Hannah Reeder. When it came to the three young women competing for the title of Miss Minden Outstanding Teen, the judges awarded the title to Izzy Gray.
In the teen category, the Miss Congeniality and Talent Awards went to Izzy Gray and the fitness award went to Landry Edwards. In the Miss Minden Pageant it was a blowout with Miss Congeniality, Talent, and the newly added category of the Hannah McFarland Style Award all awarded to this year’s Miss Minden Maison Wilbanks.
Earlier that morning on the same day was the Little Miss Minden Pageant which saw a myriad of Miss Minden titles for different age groups. Baby Miss Minden was Rowen Smith, Toddler Miss Minden was Blakely Adams, Tiny Miss Minden was ViviAnn Rainy, Mini Miss Minden was Tessa Adams, Pre-Teen Miss Minden was Kensington Pamintuan, Junior Miss Minden was Piper Mandino, Miss Heart of Minden was Isabel Sifuentez, with the People’s Choice Awards going to Joanna Bordelon and Tessa Adams.
The host of the Miss Minden Pageant, the Young Women’s Service Club would like to express their thanks to the sponsors who made this event possible. The emerald sponsors include TG Companies and Defiance Energy Services, LLC. The gold sponsors include Carroway Pre-Owned, b1Bank, and Timberland Services. The silver sponsors include Waltman Law Firm, Mondays Oilfield, Webster Parish Journal, Bienville Parish Journal, Holiday Inn, Brown Chrysler Dodge, Citizens Bank and Trust, and Cindy Walker, Miss Minden 1972.