Sara Risvold wins Miss Tulare County crown on second try

VISALIA — Sara Risvold of Springville was named Miss Tulare County 2009 on Saturday at the culmination of a pizzazz-packed pageant that showcased the poise, talent and wit of 10 young women.

For Risvold, two year’s worth of competition yielded dual titles, a crown and a stash of scholarship cash.

The Miss Tulare County title comes with a $4,000 scholarship and the honor of representing Tulare County in a number of appearances throughout the year, including the Miss California pageant. She was also named Miss Congeniality.

Risvold attends Porterville College. Her platform issue, an issue she will promote in her new role, is titled “Suicide Awareness Requires Action.”

Preceding the show, which took place in the Visalia Fox Theatre, Risvold said, other than being nervous, she was optimistic regardless of the night’s outcome.

Risvold was participating in the pageant for a second year. She named a couple of positives that come with competing. One, “it’s a great way to pay for school.”

Besides the $4,000 awarded to Miss Tulare County, the first runner-up receives $2,000, the second runner-up $1,000, the third runner-up, $750 and everyone else, $580, she said.

On top of that, “you meet the best people.”

“Any one of these girls could win and it would not be a disappointment,” she said backstage before the show started. “I would not want to be judging us.”

Showmanship for the pageant had an extra flare this year, those who attended said. The Charter Oaks Lions Club sponsored it for the first time after the Kiwanis Club sponsored it for 57 years, Junnan Amara, the pageant’s executive director, said.
Another new feature: Staging the show for the first time was George Pappas, a retiree who was the executive director of the Porterville

College Music Theater for 23 years.

Asked to come out of retirement to apply his production prowess to the pageant, he agreed and has worked for the past couple of months with the 10 contestants on the show that premiered Saturday.

“We’re doing our best to give [the audience] their money’s worth,” Pappas said before the show. “We’re going to give them a good show.

We tried to give it a little bit of a Las Vegas look. We kind of jazzed it up.”

The contestants performed an opening number choreographed by Susan Pallas, of Sierra Performing Arts. It was the first time the contestants opened the show with a choreographed routine, Pappas said.

“I can tell you that I am really pleased with the ladies,” Pappas said. “I have had a ball working with the girls. Ten lovely women. And the talent of the girls is lovely.”

The show included dance routine performances by Summer Loftis, Miss Tulare County 2008, and vocal performances by Visalia’s Stan Carrizosa, winner of the grand prize for the ABC/Disney reality series, “High School Musical: Get the Picture?”

Loftis served as master of ceremonies throughout the majority of the show. She has, for the last two months, worked with the contestants in preparation for the show.

“They are really great girls,” Loftis said before the show started. “It’s a new, fresh pageant, and all the girls have worked hard and they’re motivated.”

Those in the audience liked what they saw. As one Lion’s Club member, Rosie O’Canto put it, “you have to see it to appreciate it.”

O’Canto said she has attended the pageants for about 30 years, that her children and grandchildren have participated.

“In all the years I’ve watched Miss Tulare County, this is probably the most talented group I’ve seen,” she said.

Another Lion’s Club member who also frequents the pageants, Pam Bonds, said it’s always exciting attending the competition.

“Just every year, the talent seems to get better and better,” she said, “and it’s exciting to see young people doing good things, and just being young and full of life, having a goal, having a purpose.”

The other winners were Tia Eager, first runner-up, from Visalia; Rachel Fanjul, second runner-up, from Visalia; and Casey Cochran, third runner-up from Dinuba.

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