Much like Christmas morning, the Miss Deer Park Scholarship Program came and went all in a matter of a couple of hours. It was a wonderful evening full of talent, smiles, music, and awards. 10 young ladies graced the stage, all competing for scholarship money and the chance to be one of the three representatives who will represent our community at various events over this next year. However, this year was a bit different as the event was moved to Mead High School. While many know that our own Deer Park High School had some pipes break in the theater, how the program came to be at Mead High School may still be an unanswered question.
Roll the calendar back to January. The Miss Deer Park committee came together with many other volunteers to begin working with the contestants just like every other year. Things were rolling along great until mid-February when winter decided to rear her head and impact plans. Some practices were missed due to weather, others were moved from the theater to the high school commons due to broken pipes, then the committee learned that the theater would not be ready in time for the program. This is where the determination of Kylene Grub, the committee chair, combined with some divine intervention came into play. The committee brainstormed options: the middle school, the Arcadia, a church in Spokane with a stage, Mead High School, etc. Grub began setting up meetings to view venues, and hoped that something close to our little community would work. After what still feels like a gift, Mead High School was miraculously available, but only for the night of dress rehearsal and the night of the program.
So, practices were moved to the Clayton Community Church for the next few weeks. Practices were added to the schedule to accommodate those that had been missed. Before anyone knew it, it was time to meet for dress rehearsal. The ladies and the committee members met at our Deer Park Pizza Factory and caravanned to Mead High School.
Once arriving at the new venue, there was a quick tour, and the committee went to work making the space just right in preparation for Saturday’s event. The judges room was set up and prepped for judges’ interviews and tallying the votes from the program night. The dressing rooms were prepped with dresses and outfits hung, room made for the hairdressers, and stations prepped for makeup. The Mead production crew worked with the Miss Deer Park team to review the script for lighting and sound. And within a short time, dress rehearsal was in full swing. The committee and contestants wrapped up the evening about 9:30pm feeling ready for the next day’s events.
Saturday went off without a hitch, thanks to a well-oiled team of committee members, a great group of contestants, a wonderful group of last year’s representatives, and with the assistance of the Mead High School production crew and staff.
The Miss Deer Park Committee would like to extend a huge thank you to Greg, Meg, Tammy, and the janitorial team for making us feel welcome, and helping this night full of memories go so smoothly for these young ladies.
