Mother, daughter duo receive pageant recognition

Local business owner and Cannon Air Force Base spouse Tyleen Caffrey was recently named top community service woman at the Miss American Beauties Plus Pageant in Atlanta, Ga., a pageant geared towards women who wear plus-sized clothing.

Courtesy photo

Tyleen Caffrey, owner of local non-profit business Monarch Formals, recently won the top title in a national pageant due to her local community service of donating formal wear to women and teens for formal events. Caffrey's daughter, Claire, 15, won the top title in the teen category for talking about hearing loss awareness.

Caffrey, who owns local non-profit business Monarch Formals, said she used the business as the theme for her platform in the competition, highlighting that she likes to provide free formal wear for low-income families, because she has been in the same place they have been.

"Miss American Beauties Plus rewards women who are active in their communities, families and careers," Caffrey said. "I entered the foster care system just a few weeks before my junior prom and I was lucky enough to have great foster parents who provided me with a dress."

Caffrey said the competition is national with women anywhere from New York to Washington and California competing.

Caffrey won the highest title of Elite Woman of Achievement, which required her to submit a scrapbook and resume of her community service and add three minutes to the interview portion of the competition.

She said this was in addition to the interview, talent show and evening and fashion wear sections she participated in her category of Mrs. against several other women.

"For me, the biggest thing is winning the Elite because of Monarch Formals," Caffrey said. "I wouldn't have won that title without community support. Monarch Formals gets more popular every year. The community support has been amazing."

Caffrey said 150 formal dresses have been donated to her business by local communities just since February and has loaned 40 dresses for events. She said she has all sizes and colors and will serve not only high school prom attendees but couples attending formal military functions and other formal events.

Caffrey's 15-year-old daughter, Claire, also competed in the pageant in the teen category, winning the highest title of Queen.

"It was a wonderful experience," Claire said. "Everyone was so friendly and wonderful. It really was like being in a family."

Having a genetic disorder which requires her to wear a hearing aid, Claire was inspired to use hearing loss awareness as the theme for her platform in the competition.

Caffrey said she has judged numerous pageants across the country, including local Clovis pageants, so she felt it was time to compete in one, so she competed in the same national pageant in 2011, winning runner up for the highest title.

She said she and her daughter will attend next year to crown the 2013 winners.

"Pageantry is really about community service and building self-esteem," Caffrey said. "We have the pageant bug. We definitely want to compete in more. I couldn't do it (her community service) without the community. Everyone has been so supportive."

Caffrey said she created Monarch Formals on the Move this year, so she can now take formal wear to them.

For more information on how to borrow dresses from Monarch Formals, visit http://www.monarchformals.org.