Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Mardi Gras fever sweeps Prescott Chamber Banquet away

It's going to be difficult for the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce to top this year's banquet.

The reason  a "beauty pageant" of a different feather.

Former Miss Arkansas Jessie Ward acted as emcee for the "pageant". She was given one question to ask the contestants  "What do you consider your best asset?"

From there, the hilarity began, as there were two categories; one for "men", and one for "women".

First up on the stage, dressed in a canary yellow with dreadlocks and a moustache was "Free Melvin", also known as Booie Williams. "Melvin" tried to convince Ward to join his "stable" of ladies.

Next in line was the blind "Paul Udine", better known as Paula Cossey. "Paul's" accouterments were slightly mismatched.

Ward's main concern with "Paul" was avoiding the cane.

"JJ", Joyce Gibson, was the final contestant in the "male" division. Dressed in a tuxedo, "JJ" let it be known he was "well read, and read well."

The winner was selected by audience response, with "JJ" being named "king" of the Mardi Gras.

While the "men's" competition was funny, it couldn't compare to the "women's" category.

This group featured two members of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, who could best be described as being adorned in the manner of bag ladies.

"Cher", Sheriff Steve Otwell, opened the "women's" portion, with deputy Hebb Sorrells closing it, using the name "Sassy Sally".

While these two were funny, they had nothing on the other two contestants: Brad Crain and Howard Austin, also known as Fredricka and Georgette respectively.

When Austin appeared as "Georgette", Ward almost lost her composure, and did lose it after "Fredricka" told "her" best asset.

Tears of laughter streamed down several faces in the audience as Austin/Georgette kept Ward in stitches with his response.

"Fredricka", however, stole the show telling Ward she (Fredricka) had been told her best asset was an impressive rack. Once the laughter died down somewhat, Fredricka explained she was an avid deer hunter, which resulted in another roar of laughter from the audience.

When it came time for the vote, though, "Georgette" and "Fredricka" tied the first time, requiring a "run-off". The two held one another, each wishing the other well. But, when all was said and done, "Georgette" was named Mardi Gras Queen.

With the frivolity out of the way, awards and recognitions were handed out.

Karen McLelland was honored with the Past President Award, with the Larry and Dwana Zelonis family recognized as the Nevada County Farm Family of the Year.

Michael Jimmerson, Chamber president, announced the Treasure of Gold Award, which went to Elizabeth Haltom.

The recipient's accomplishments, he said, span 50 years. Haltom has lived in the area most of her life and is respected by many.

She earned this respect, he said, by showing it to others, and is a lady in every sense of the word.

Haltom began teaching in 1941, only to have her career cut short 28-years later due to an injury which forced her to retire.

While she may have retired, she didn't quit working, only turned her attention to different areas, primarily community work.

"I'm overcome," Haltom said at being so honored. "It's such a great honor. I love each one of you and you're all special. I'm humbled by this honor, and thank you for letting me share my life with you."

The Business Leadership Award was next, with Jimmerson making the presentation.

This award did not go to any one individual, but a group of employees from a local industry working together to make Prescott a better place. The award went to the Firestone Community Fund.

In 2001, Jimmerson said, the employees at Firestone contributed $28,524.69 to the community for different projects, and increased this to $30,145.72 in 2002.

Ivory Curry accepted the award for the group, thanking everyone for the recognition.

Ward presented the Student of the Year Awards, first naming Brittney Daniel as Emmet's Student of the Year.

Daniel, she said, was highly recommended for the honor as she tends to exceed the goals she sets for herself and has worked to graduate a year early, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.

Prescott's Student of the Year was Rebecca Barfield. Ward said Barfield is gifted academically and in personality.

Barfield is the president of the Prescott High School Student Council, a member of the Wolverette cheerleading squad, ranks first in a class of 64 and has a 4.0 GPA.

Educators of the Year came next.

Dr. Gene Ross, Emmet superintendent, named Amanda Robertson as Emmet's Educator of the Year.

He said she is an asset to the district, will go above the call of duty and do anything asked.

Robertson thanked the faculty for their support, and said she has a wonderful group of students to work with, even though most of them don't know what she does as counselor and think her main job is to take the lunch count.

Nevada High School Principal Blake Epperson named Sherry Moore as the Nevada Educator of the Year.

She's an outstanding classroom teacher, he said, who works to maintain excellence, and her student's test scores are always above average in literacy.

Moore, he said, created the Jazzy Jays, and works closely with the school's youth coaching girls softball and assisting at Camp Pioneer with the Boy Scouts.

Moore's speech was short, as she simply said "thank you" for the award.

Pat Blake, a member of the Prescott School Board, presented Shelia Virden with the Prescott Educator of the Year Award.

"As a former student," she said, "I know what a beautiful teacher the recipient is."

Virden, she said, is most deserving, and described her as caring, kind and understanding, along with being ruthless when it comes to working to keep children from falling through the cracks.

"I've enjoyed being able to serve the district for three-plus decades," Virden said. "We have wonderful young people. I thank my co-workers and the administrations I've worked for."

Finally, it was time for the Citizen of the Year Award. This is the penultimate award of the banquet each year. This year it went to Margie Johnson, director of Hillcrest Nursing Home.

Jimmerson, in his presentation, said the award is based on the accomplishments of the recipient.

Johnson, he said, was born and raised in Nevada County, graduated from PHS in 1976 and sets an example for many people.

She serves in many capacities, he said, including being on the board of directors for the Arkansas Health Care Association, where she is president of the association's district VII.

"This is a tremendous honor," Johnson said. "I'm happy about it, but never dreamed it would happen to me."

She thanked those who nominated her, along with the Chamber board for picking her.

"I'm thankful for my husband, Tony, and children, and my Hillcrest family. I appreciate the staff at Hillcrest, several of whom have been there many years. Because of this teamwork, we have one of the best homes in the state."

Johnson told the audience her parents would be celebrating their golden anniversary this year and dedicated the award to Dr. H. Blake Crow, who she worked with for 10 years at Hillcrest before he died.