A year as Miss Northampton
“MORE than anything, I would like to promote...world peace.”
How often have we heard this phrase coming from the mouth of contestants, often in Hollywood films spoofing the old, traditional beauty pageant.
But the current Miss Northampton, 22-year-old Gabi Willmore, wants to take a very clear step away from those beauty queen stereotypes.
She said: “I know when the Chron ran a web story, people had made comments like ‘beauty pageants are ridiculous,’ but it has changed. Many of the girls taking part were at uni, no-one was sitting there and saying ‘world peace.’
“It has definitely moved on and the girls doing it were there because they wanted to be there and not because they were shoved into a corner.
“I think it is saddening, some of the comments were really horrible. All I can do is try to explain to people.”
Gabi was crowned with her current title last year and is soon to be succeeded, as young women in the Northamptonshire area are now being asked to apply for the Miss Northampton 2012 contest.
Last year’s event was hosted at Sazerac in Northampton and during the competition the eight finalists were asked to raise money for the Chron and Macmillan Cancer Support’s £1.55 million appeal to fund a new blood cancer treatment unit at Northampton General Hospital.
Gabi managed to raise more than £1,000 by joining forces with a fellow finalist and organising a catwalk show, supported by TopShop. For Gabi, the support she can give to charities is one good reason why beauty competitions should not be treated so scathingly by critics.
Gabi, who lives in Upton, graduated from Loughborough University last year and in July started a new job as a pharmaceutical sales rep, working across the Midlands.
But following on from her Miss Northampton title and semi-final appearance in the Miss England pageant, demand on her time from those who want her to make public appearances has been great.
So the last few months have seen Gabi busily balancing her day job with the responsibilities which go with hand in hand with the title of Miss Northampton.
She said: “I am renowned for taking on a lot and it has been a busy year but I have loved every second of it. It was more in the first few months but at one point I was doing two events a week, for example at Indian restaurants holding charity events for Macmillan, charity balls and other events.
“I think at first I thought the title would be fun, but then you realise it can be full on.”
Gabi said she would recommend taking part in Miss Northampton to any prospective contestants.
She commented: “It is a brilliant confidence booster and I would recommend it and it is really good because you can raise so much money in these charity events and I really see it in that respect.
“I would say to people they should go into it for the right reasons, the year is full on, I don’t think you should go into it if you just think it would be nice to have the crown, there is a lot of work to do.”
Entries are now being invited for the annual Miss Northampton pageant which is open to women living in Northamptonshire who are aged between 17 and 24.
The winner will automatically represent Northampton in the Miss England semi-final and will be in with a chance of winning the national title.
The deadline for entries to the Miss Northampton 2012 competition will be Wednesday, February 1. A total of 12 finalists will be decided by an online vote and they will then compete against each other at a venue in the town.
For more information about how to enter the Miss Northampton 2012 competition go to www.miss england.info/ regionals/ northampton or log onto www.missengland.info/enter-now
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Comment Reported Unsuitable by User
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 11:56 PMI am trying hard not to be cynical and I certainly support activities that raise funds and awareness for charity, but it seems like a lot of fuss for £1k . I'm sure there's more to it than that and I probably don't know enough about it to shoot it down in flames, but it just seems a little unnecessary. I know Gabi tries to big it up in the article, but to be fair, she won, so is understandably biased. Perhaps someone else will put me straight?
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