On Saturday, February 1, 2020, Gaffney High School hosted the annual Miss Cherokeean Pageant. This year there were a total of 26 beautiful contestants. The theme of Miss Cherokeean 2020 was “unforgettable.”

Many special awards were given out, such as the winner of each grade, the Runner up (9-11th grade), academic award, community service award, Pageant Spirit,  and People’s Choice.

Contestants from each grade level were academically evaluated based on their GPA from the first semester. The Academic Award was given to the girl with the highest GPA. The Freshman award went to Vidhi Patel, Sophomore to Celeste Bohn, Junior to Brianna Parris, and our seniors had a two way tie between Christy Bolin and Katelyn Mathis.

The Pageant Spirit Award, was an award that each contestant got the chance to vote on anonymously. The morning before the pageant, each girl was asked to choose one contestant who had been to every practice, and been a positive influence towards the other contestants. This award was given to Student Body President, Ansleigh Touchberry.

The Community Service Award was given to the contestant who the judges believed had the most genuine personality and the kindest heart. The award was primarily based off the contestant interviews. The contestant who received this award was Erica Manning.

The People’s Choice Award was an award strictly for seniors. The audience of the pageant voted for the senior they believed deserved the award. As you walked into the building on pageant night, there were separate boxes with named labels for each girl. These boxes were used to collect the money donated. During intermission, the money was counted, and the award was given to the girl who raised the most amount of money. The People’s Choice Award was given to Bailey Jolly.

It was freshmen students’ first opportunity to participate in the Miss Cherokeean pageant, and they did outstanding. The freshman runner-up was awarded to Reagan Parker, and Miss Freshman was given to Mallory Garcia.

The Miss Sophomore runner-up was awarded to Ensley Alley, and Miss Sophomore was Bri’zeria Wilkins.

Junior runner-up was awarded to Erika Quinn, and Miss Junior was Brianna Parris.

The senior class did not have a runner-up, as Miss Cherokeean is traditionally only awarded to a Senior. However, this made the Miss Senior Award even more honorable.  The Miss Senior Award was presented to Shelby Duckett.

Finally, our Gaffney High School, Miss Cherokeean 2020 went to Ansleigh Touchberry.

Congratulations to all of the gorgeous Miss Cherokeean contestants. You all did an absolutely fantastic job. A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Kristie Camp and Mrs. Mollie Vassey for organizing this “unforgettable” night, and to everyone who made this night possible.