Rain holds off for Miss Ohio Parade

MANSFIELD - A weekend full of rain and thunderstorms stopped Sunday afternoon for this year's contestants to show off their decorated shoes and kick off the start of the week's competition during the Miss Ohio Parade.

Crowds lined Park Avenue West and North Main Street as the 20 Miss Ohio and 17 Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen contestants showed off their shoes from atop convertibles.

Decorating shoes to reflect something about themselves for the parade has become a tradition for Miss Ohio participants.

This year's Miss Ohio scholarship program includes four local competitors: Miss Tallawanda Lauren Beard of Ontario, Miss Clayland Madeline Carter of Mansfield, Miss Portsmouth Rachel Gombosch of Ontario and Miss Shawnee Maribeth Tagg of Ontario.

Beard, 19, is a 2017 Ontario graduate who now studies business marketing at The Ohio State University.

This is the first Miss Ohio competition for Beard, who was involved in the teen program growing up.

"It is surreal to me," she said. "This was always a dream of mine as a kid, so to be here is just incredible."

Beard, whose talent is dance, is competing on the platform "Shaping Our Future: Preventing Childhood Obesity."

"I do a lot of different things to help encourage healthy habits, including physical exercise and diet choices," she said.

Beard's shoe design was based on the Richland Carrousel.

"It is a big childhood memory of mine, and I thought it was fitting since we are now at the Carrousel (after the parade)," she said.

Carter, 21, is a Mansfield native and 2015 St. Peter's graduate who studies broadcast media at Baldwin Wallace University.

This is Carter's second year in the Miss Ohio competition. Last year, she placed in the top 10 and was the recipient of the People's Choice Award and Miss Photogenic Award.

Carter called returning to the Miss Ohio stage "incredibly rewarding, and I feel grateful. Above all, it's been a journey, and I'm so grateful to be here and excited to finally be able to come back and compete for the job that means so much to me."

Carter, whose talent is singing, is competing on the platform "#Character: A Social Movement."

"My mission is to recognize and to develop good character and live it through words, action and media," she said.

Carter's shoe design was based on her platform, decorated with seven character traits, like honesty, respect and kindness, that she came up with in collaboration with a group of national character experts.

Her website, madelinepaigecharacter.com, includes a character quiz to determine top character strengths.

Gombosch, 23, is a 2013 Ontario graduate who studies urban planning at the University of Cincinnati. 

This is Gombosch's second year on the Miss Ohio stage. She didn't place in the top 10 last year, but "I'm hoping this year to at least make top five, if not take home the crown," she said.

"I love it. It's such an empowering program for young women," she added.

Gombosch, whose talent is singing, is competing on the platform "The Daily Decision: Choosing Joy in the Journey."

"It's about helping people understand that the joy you feel on a daily basis isn't based on the circumstances of your life," she said of her platform. "But it's instead based on your principles, your values and your focus."

Gombosch's shoe design was drawn from her urban planning major, with Ohio painted on shoe, along with major cities, roads and significant buildings in the major cities that she cut out of wood and painted.

Tagg, 23, is a 2013 Ontario graduate who is in her final year of law school at the University of Akron.

Tagg has never competed in the Miss Ohio program before, but she was inspired to compete this year after watching her best friend, Gombosch, compete on the stage last year.

"It's incredible. I watched these girls when I was little. I grew up watching them," Tagg said. "And to be one of them now, it's like a dream come true."

Tagg, whose talent is singing, is competing on the platform "The Up Side of Downs."

"It involves just showing that people with Down syndrome can do whatever they want," she said. "They can have jobs, they can go to college, they can succeed in life, and showing people how important that is just in their everyday lives."

Tagg's shoe was Minnie-Mouse themed, based on her love for Disney World after going there almost every year growing up.

"I had to honor that somehow," she said.

More:Miss Ohio contestants arrive in town Friday

Sunday's parade also included area marching bands, dance and baton studios, local companies and agencies and royalty from other festivals and fairs around the state, like the Lexington Blueberry Festival, Crestline Harvest Festival and Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival.

Miss Ohio Week kicked off Saturday with a welcome ceremony and fashion show at the Richland Mall. The mall is also hosting the Miss Ohio Photogenic Contest, with votes for the most photogenic contestant accepted until 3 p.m. Friday.

On Monday, the contestants will be at the Applebee's at 145 Stander Ave. in Mansfield and 1023 Lexington-Springmill Road North in Ontario from 5 to 7 p.m. The restaurants will sell paper crowns for $1 and compete against each other to see which can sell the most crowns in one evening.

Miss Ohio's Outstanding Teen 2018 is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Renaissance Theatre. Tickets are required. 

The teen competition includes three local contestants: Miss Maple City’s Outstanding Teen Ellie Nickoli of Mansfield, Miss Northern Ohio’s Outstanding Teen Juliana Heichel of Lexington and Miss Mohican Valley’s Outstanding Teen Paige Divelbiss of Ontario.

Nickoli's platform is "Early Intervention is the Key," Heichel's platform is "Living with A.D.D Accept Diagnose Deal" and Divelbiss' platform is "Defeat Diabetes."

The winner will represent Ohio at Miss America's Outstanding Teen in Orlando, Florida, at the end of July.

Miss Ohio's first preliminary night is 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Renaissance, with the pre-show at 7:05 p.m. Half the competitors will compete in talent and on-stage question, and the other half will compete in swimsuit and evening wear. Tickets are required.

The second preliminary night is 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Renaissance, with the pre-show at 7:05 p.m. Half the competitors will compete in talent and on-stage question, and the other half will compete in swimsuit and evening wear. Tickets are required.

Miss Ohio's final night and crowning is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Renaissance, with the pre-show at 7:05 p.m. The 10 semifinalists will re-compete in swimsuit, talent, evening wear and on-stage question to see who will be crowed Miss Ohio 2018. Tickets are required.

The winner will represent the state at the Miss America Pageant on Sept. 9 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The current Miss Ohio is Sarah Clapper, and the current Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen is Gracie Fusco.

Both Miss Ohio 2018 and Miss Ohio's Outstanding Teen 2018 will have their first public appearance 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Richland Mall. 

This year's competition also includes 18 princesses, including 11 from the Mansfield area: Katelyn Bednarz, 9, of Mansfield; Carlie Schnittke, 8, of Ontario; Iris McConnell, 9, of Norwalk; Madelyn Swanson, 6, of Ashland; Kaitlyn Stulka, 8, of Mount Vernon; Madelyn Yoha, 9, of Mansfield; Valarie Duffey, 7, of Mansfield; Paige Reece, 7, of Bellville; Torre Webber, 11, of Mansfield; Grace Speelman, 10 of Mansfield; and Isabella Heichel, 10, of Lexington.

For tickets for any of the week's events, visit tickets.missohio.org.

ejmills@mansfieldnewsjournal.com

419-521-7205

Twitter: @EmilyMills818