Makenzi Edwards named 2018 Peach Queen
After six weeks of selling tickets to Pioneer Days events and hosting community fundraisers, Makenzi Edwards emerged as the winner of the 2018 Peach Queen contest.
The Pittsburg-Camp County Chamber announced the results on Friday, July 6.
The candidate, sponsored by the Pittsburg Lion’s Club, raised the most funds – the Chamber does not release individual amounts – to help bring in a total of $28,645 for this fall’s Pioneer Days festival.
Edwards, a 17-year-old senior at Chapel Hill High School, will receive a $1,000 scholarship and will be crowned at the Peach Queen Coronation Sept. 12. She is the daughter of Brian and Amy Applegate of Pittsburg and Jason and Chrissy Edwards of Rockwall. She plans to attend Texas Tech University and pursue a law degree.
Lessly Garza, a 17-year-old senior at Pittsburg High School and sponsored by the Pittsburg Rotary Club, was declared the runner-up. Garza and the rest of the candidates will now serve as Edwards’ Peach Queen Court. The other Princesses are Ms. Maliyah Jackson, sponsored by Douglass Alumni, Kyleigh Hefner, sponsored by Efurd Orchards, Ms. Ky’Auna Jones, sponsored by NAACP, Emily Calderon, sponsored by the Pittsburg Kiwanis Club, and Kortnie Griffin, sponsored by the Pittsburg Rodeo Association.
Peach Queen Committee Chair James Wallace said the candidates have been selling tickets since June 1 to the pageant, to the Community Leadership Luncheon on Sept. 13 and the BBQ Cookoff on Sept. 15.
“They had until July 6 to turn in their funds, and the one that turned in the most represents the Chamber and our city throughout the next year,” Wallace said.
With the contest behind them, tickets for the Pioneer Days events will be available at the Chamber office. Wallace said about 100 people are involved in the Peach Queen pageant, which will be held at the Pittsburg High School Auditorium.
“The queen will have her adult court, and she’ll choose her Royal Attendants, who are her friends, and she will select her Little Court ages 5-10, and they will be decked out in their little gowns and tuxes,” Wallace said.
The committee members are Wallace, Chamber Executive Director Christine Jackson, Marci Parker, Mandi Hobbs, Ann Waldrep, Ken Baum, Ronda Burns, Vee Couch, Kim Daily, Kathy McCullough, Holly McGraw and Emily Shearin.
The majority of the funds they raised will be used to help the annual festival continue to grow.
“We plan to turn our festival into a multi-day event, so the funds raised by the contestants finances the pageant, the leadership luncheon, the barbeque cookoff and also allows us to bring in live music and other entertainment,” Wallace said. “While it has been a fun event, we want to make it even better.”
The Chamber is working on adding all-day entertainment on two stages as well as street performers.
The pageant has grown from three contestants the first year, five last year – with Sydney Waldrep being crowned the 2017 Peach Queen - and seven this year. As it continues to grow, the Chamber would like to add scholarships for each of the contestants.
“We also want to get the parade to where we have nice big floats. The Chamber has purchased a float that the queen has been riding on the past two years and we need a place to house it,” Wallace said. “The nicer we make our parades, the more people we have come to town and are more likely to spend money.”