LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
PARIS—The 2024 Kiwanis Jr. Miss Honeybee Festival Queen Lauren Bowers best describes the sensation of winning her Honeybee crown as a “fever dream.”
“There were so many emotions when they called my number,” she explained. “I was happy and crying. It felt like this giant wave that washed over me…whenever he said my number and then my name I had to do a double take.”
To add to her excitement, moments after Bowers received her crown her long-time friend Bella Sunkel was crowned the 2024 Kiwanis Miss Honeybee Festival Queen.
“We’ve been friends for so long,” Bowers said. “So when she won, she didn’t even have a chance to get off stage before I ran on and hugged her.”
Following the Sept. 22 pageant, where the two young women won their new titles, the duo shared their elation over the crowns, their experience during the event and plans for the upcoming year with a Prairie Press reporter.
“I have the feeling that after this our connection will be even stronger,” Sunkel said.
As Kiwanis Miss Honeybee, Sunkel represents students in high school grades and Bowers represents young women in junior high/middle school grades with her Jr. Miss title. The Honeybee Pageant is the only Edgar County pageant to offer a competition category for individuals between the ages of 11-15.
Bowers competed in the contest this year to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, who won the crown in 2016. Pageants, according to the new Jr. Miss, are “something so special and so fun.”
“I wanted to follow in my sister’s footsteps… she was the first person we called as soon as I won,” Bowers said. “My mom and my dad have been getting me from practices, driving me around and have just been supporting me through it all. I’m really grateful.”
In the coming years, Bowers hopes to continue competing in local pageants, in addition to bettering her water skiing skills and becoming an occupational therapist. Her plans include competing for the Miss Honeybee crown and, once she is old enough, or a new age bracket is introduced, entering the Miss Edgar County Pageant.
When the new Miss Honeybee heard Master of Ceremonies Tanner Laughlin say her name and number, Sunkel said she felt an instant mix of emotions.
“I was extremely happy. A few years ago, my grandma watched the pageant, before she passed away, and she really wanted me to go on to the Miss division and really wanted me to win,” Sunkel said. “So, when (Laughlin) called my name, I just thought of what she said to me, and it just meant a lot.”
Sunkel has previously competed in pageants, including the Honeybee and Little Miss Edgar County. After taking a year off from the world of competition, she decided to jump back in and attempt to win Honeybee gold this year.
“I’m so happy I did (the pageant),” she said. Sunkel credits her success to the support of her family, especially her parents, Aunt Suzanne and younger sister, who was the focus of her pageant speech.
“I have a little sister who has multiple medical conditions, and since she was born and is in a wheelchair, I have noticed that there are a lot of things that are not wheelchair-play accessible,” Sunkel explained. “It makes it very hard for us to do family activities with her.”
Sunkel hopes to use her new crown to better advocate for handicapped accessibility and partner with organizations like Edgar County’s Faith in Action to make a difference for her family, and her community.
According to Kiwanis Honeybee pageant director Sondi Dobelstein, Sunkel’s desire to create change for her sister aligns perfectly with a new project the Honeybee Queens are gearing up for.
“I want them to do something new this year, a fundraiser, something I’ve not done with the girls before in the past,” Dobelstein said. “I want them to pick something that they can fundraise money for to give back, something that matters to them.”
The decision on what the fundraiser will be for is up to the queens, but the option to get involved inside their community is not, the pageant director said.
“I want to get them involved in the community and to help them get some volunteering under their belts,” Dobelstein said.”(I want them to know) what the community can offer, and what they can offer to their community…the community is what makes events like the Honeybee weekend and the pageant possible, we could not do it without a supportive community.”
This year’s annual pageant saw a variety of sponsors and continued community support, according to Dobelstein and the two queens. Sunkel was sponsored in the glittering black and yellow event by J&M Rentals and Excavating and Bowers was sponsored by Pearman Pharmacy.
“We couldn’t do things like this without the backing of our community,” Dobelstein said. “It’s a community-sponsored event and we are so grateful to every person and company that pitched in and supported us in big and small ways.”
With crowns officially on their heads, Bowers and Sunkel have a few primary goals for the next year, promote their community, effect change and “have a really great time.”
“Really, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of young women,” Dobelstein explained. “I can’t think of two more deserving or dedicated girls to fill the role of Jr. Miss and Miss Honeybee, I think they are both going to do a great job…we are really excited for Honeybee weekend, and the rest of the year.”
Other awards given to the 20 contestants in the pageant include…
Miss
Junior Miss