Waynesville has a connection this year to the Miss Missouri Pageant

Miss Missouri candidates from across the state, their pageant directors, and families will travel to the heart of Missouri on June 11th to kick off a week filled with rehearsals, talent performances, interviews, and evening gowns at Missouri Military Academy. Representing the St. Louis metro area is Miss Spirit of St. Louis Donna Gilbert. She is the daughter of Carla and David Gilbert of Waynesville. Donna is a psychology major and sociology graduate of Coastal Carolina University. As a member of the Alpha competition group, Donna will have her personal interview with the judges on Wednesday morning, followed by the evening gown and on-stage conversation during night one of the preliminaries, Wednesday evening. During the second night of preliminaries, on Thursday, she will compete in the health and fitness portion of the competition, followed by performing her talent, baton twirling. Through the Miss Missouri organization, Donna’s social impact initiative is “Show Me Service”. Through this program, she encourages Missourians to become active in their communities with organizations that have impacted their lives. Pageant week will begin Sunday, June 12th, when the Miss Missouri candidates move onto the Missouri Military Academy’s campus. Throughout the week, the Miss Missouri candidates will participate in a wide variety of activities, ending on Saturday afternoon with a meet and greet for area residents on the courthouse lawn, located in downtown Mexico. The Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization is one of the largest providers of scholarships to young women in the state. This year, the organization will award more than $85,000 in scholarships between the Miss Missouri and Outstanding Teen programs.