by Peter Bodley
Managing editor

Eight young women will compete in the 2010 Miss Coon Rapids Scholarship Pageant in the auditorium at Coon Rapids High School Saturday, Feb. 6, starting at 6 p.m.

The winner will qualify for competition in the 2010 Miss Minnesota Scholarship Pageant, which takes place in June, and a shot at advancing to the 2010 Miss America Scholarship Pageant.

There are five phases of competition with the talent presentation counting for 35 percent of the scoring, private interview, which includes the candidate’s platform presentation, receiving 25 percent of the scoring followed by lifestyle and fitness in a swimsuit 15 percent, evening wear 20 percent and on-stage questions 5 percent.

The eight candidates in pageant competition order are:

• Jeanette Sterner

• Quinn Nystrom

• Christine Hanley

• Elisabeth Abbas

• Abby Lindekugel

• Brooke McKinnis

• Alison Lordbock

• Tricia Eisen

According to Diane Buszta, pageant director, the Miss Coon Rapids program is an open pageant.

Candidates must live, work and/or go to school within the state to qualify to be a pageant contestant, Buszta said.

Other qualifications include being between the ages of 17 and 24 - 17 years of age on the day of the competition in the local pageant and not older than 24 on Dec. 31, 2009 to compete to compete in Miss America 2010.

To compete in the 2010 Miss Minnesota Pageant, the candidate must be 17 years old and at least a senior in high school, be a United States citizen and among other things, be able to meet the time commitment and job responsibilities required by the local program.

According to Buszta, the 2010 Miss Coon Rapids title holder will earn a package worth $7,000.

This includes a $1,500 cash scholarship, crown with custom made crown box, sash, flower bouquet, personalized stationary and postage, 100 autograph cards, 100 photo buttons, $500 fashion allowance for Miss Minnesota competition, $100 photo allowance for Miss Minnesota competition, $100 training allowance, $250 donation to the Children’s Miracle Network for the Miss Minnesota competition, $500 certificate toward purchase of a Platinum Collection gown provided by Glitz! Mall of America, 16- by 20-inch queen’s portrait and a trip to the Miss Minnesota Pageant.

Other 2010 Miss Coon Rapids Pageant awards include $300 cash scholarship and flower bouquet to the first runner-up, $200 cash scholarship for the overall talent winner, $150 cash scholarship to the winner of the community service award, $100 cash scholarship to Miss Congeniality and $100 cash scholarship to the interview winner.

As part of the pageant tomorrow, there will be a silent auction of special baskets provided by each contestant. All proceeds from the bid-a-basket will go toward scholarships available to all pageant contestants, Buszta said.

Tickets for the pageant are $15 for main floor reserved first come, first served and $9 for the balcony.

The Miss Coon Rapids Scholarship Pageant Committee sponsors the Miss Coon Rapids Pageant. Go to misscoonrapidspageant.com for more information.

Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it