The distinction of toughest job in Demopolis no doubt went to the judges of the Miss Demopolis Middle School pageant Friday.

There were 47 contestants when the pageant began and narrowing the field to five was no easy task.

In the end, Reagan Tucker was chosen to wear the crown. Tucker was joined by Kaitlyn Freeman, first alternate, Jeannie Carol Creel, second alternate, Amber Lucy, third alternate and Lakedra Smith, fourth alternate.

The entire gym was silent when only Freeman and Tucker remained. When Freeman was announced as first alternate, an almost speechless Tucker said she was caught off guard.

“I was really surprised,” Tucker said. “This was only the second pageant I had ever been in.”

Putting the pageant together was a lot of hard work from faculty members and volunteers. But, the most difficult effort came from the contestants. Dana Freeman, who organized the pageant, said the girls worked very hard to prepare for this day.

“We have been organizing for about a month,” Freeman said. “They stayed after school a couple of days and practiced and also practiced one day during school.”

The pageant was about more than winning, Freeman said. It was about building confidence.

“It is a lot of fun and a lot of work to get up in front of their peers and represent their school,” Freeman said. “It gives them a chance to show their poise to their parents and go up to that next maturity level that they don’t always get to do at recess.”

Though there was a competitive field, Freeman said all 47 girls provided a support system for each other.

“They really stayed together,” Freeman said. “You could seem them together in the back supporting each other, having a good time and just being a normal middle school girl. I think that is the thing we as teachers were saying we were so proud of. They carried themselves like mature middle school girls.”

The winners get the chance to ride in the homecoming parade and help with open house events. They also serve as representatives of the school.

All of the money from the pageant goes to the Demopolis City Schools Foundation