Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Pageant winner Aaliyah Rodriguez raised over $1,800 for local businesses.
Five-year-old Aaliyah Rodriguez, winner of Portales' 31st annual Little Miss Merry Christmas Pageant (center, red robe), poses for a photo with fellow contestants Thursday night at the Yam Theatre. Rodriguez won the pageant by raising over $1,800 for Christmas lights for local businesses on the downtown square.
Rodriguez receives a winning robe from Miss Sandoval County Ashley Moseley.
Portales' 31st Annual little miss merry christmas Pageant saw seven local girls raise over $4,000, with each participant being recognized for the effort they put into supporting their community.
The pageant, which included seven girls aged 5-10 who participated in fundraising from Nov. 7-30, recognized the contestant that raised the most money to purchase Christmas lights for businesses on the downtown square.
After all of the participants were introduced Thursday night at the Yam Theatre, master of ceremonies Tyleen Caffrey announced 5-year-old Aaliyah Rodriguez was the winner, raising over $1,800.
Aaliyah's mother Alexandra described the effort it took to achieve her daughter's victory.
"We did some silent auctions - two of them. One was for desserts, and one was for items. We sold banana bread and pumpkin rolls, and then the (donation) jars, of course, at the bank (J.P. Stone Community Bank)," she said.
According to Alexandra, her decision to enter her daughter in the pageant was helped by the fact that she had once participated herself.
"I did it when I was younger, too. I didn't win, but I wanted her to do it. She always likes dressing up and stuff," she said, adding that she felt relieved that Aaliyah had won.
Cacie Sherburne, 8, said her favorite part of raising money was being able to "sell stuff, because I get money so I can probably win."
According to Cacie, the most fun she had was selling cheese cakes, which she gave credit to her grandmother for making.
According to 9-year-old Keilee Rowland, asking people for money was the most enjoyable part of her experience.
"It was really easy, because all you have to do is just stand up and talk, and just trust in yourself and say, 'It's OK,'" she said.
Caffrey had never hosted the little miss merry christmas Pageant before, but said she liked the event's fundraising aspect.
"I'm a huge advocate for especially young girls to learn how to give back to their hometown or to their community. This is a great opportunity to really teach girls at a young age how important giving back is," Caffrey said.
