Sara Owinyo crowned Bonners Ferry Junior Miss

BONNERS FERRY — After an outstanding performance by the 20 Junior Miss contestants, Sara Owinyo was crowned 2010 Bonners Ferry Junior Miss.

Good Vibrations filled the Becker Auditorium on Saturday, March 27th as 2009 Junior Miss Erin Hiatt passed on the honor of Bonners Ferry Junior Miss to Sara Owinyo in front of a sold-out auditorium.

She received a $2,100 scholarship and numerous gifts from local merchants.

For her talent, Sara sang “Once Upon A Time” from the Broadway show “Brooklyn: the Musical.” Sara will participate in the Idaho State Junior Miss program on Nov. 4-6 in Coeur d’Alene.

This year’s theme of “Good Vibrations” carried through the evening with leis, surfboards, lively music and laughter.

As the contestants danced, worked-out, and showcased their talent, judges scored each contestant in five categories: Scholastic, interview, self-expression, fitness and talent, with the interview and scholastic portion being completed prior to the show.

Each runner-up received a scholarship, gift basket and gift certificates to local merchants.

This year’s first runner-up was Kaytlinn Rice ($1,200 scholarship), second runner-up was Charena Branscum ($900 scholarship) and thid runner-up was Lorena LaBarbera ($600 scholarship).

For their talents, Kaytlinn danced to “Evacuate the Dance Floor” by Casada, Charena danced to “One Step at a Time” and Lorena performed a comedy skit titled “The Plight of a Nerd.”

Junior Miss contestants vote for the girl who most exemplifies the spirit of Junior Miss and they decided that the Spirit of Junior Miss Award winner should be Adriana Ponce.

The Be Your Best Self Award is decided by the Junior Miss committee and is awarded to the one contestant who is committed to being her best self through community service, overall enthusiasm, dependability, attitude and participation throughout the program.

Jesse Tobin is the Be Your Best Self Award winner. Other winners, decided by the judges, included: Interview, Amy Andrews and Charena Branscum; talent, Sara Owinyo and Olivia Langs; scholastics: Lorena LaBarbera and Taylor Dinning; fitness: Olivia Langs and Miranda Stippich; and self expression: Sara Owinyo and Kaytlinn Rice.

All of the award winners received a $550 scholarship, gift basket and gift certificates to local merchants.

This year as part of the program, each Junior Miss contestant mentored a sixth grade girl.

The Junior Miss contestants worked with these Young Misses to encourage self-esteem by doing fun activities together including the opening number of the program on Saturday.

The Junior Miss contestants incorporated the five elements of the Be Your Best Self message into their mentoring, which included being healthy, involved, responsible, studious and ambitious.

“This year was phenomenal,” said Summer MacDonald, Junior Miss house manager. “Great show, great committee and good volunteers.”