April was a big month for senior Alex Goodman.

Last weekend she was crowned Prom Queen,and two weeks before that, Goodman, along with 47 others, took the spotlight in the inaugural PALS Pageant on Saturday, April 13, at the Willie Duke Auditorium.

The pageant was hosted by the PALS Club, which stands for Peers Are Linking Students. The club’s 250 members focus on building relationships between regular education students and those with special needs.

Special education teacher Jenny Kelly got the idea from junior Sarah Boyd and senior Lizzie Keown, who had heard about a special needs pageant from girls at their church camp and thought it would be a great to have one here.  Judging from the participants and audience’s reactions, it was a night to remember.

“I like to dress up because it’s fun and you get to smile,” Goodman said.  “I was happy and felt like a princess.”

Kelly and special education parapro Todd Saye got together with PALS Club sponsors Shannon Gagliano, Cindy Hartpence, Jodi Christensen, and Colleen Petty, to put on an unforgettable show. Parents, faculty, and PALS Club members decorated the stage, assisted at the Friday night rehearsal, and gotthe participants dolled up for their magical night.  Several small businesses in the community chipped in by donating gift cards and gift baskets for the pageant’s Silent Auction.

Kelly wanted to include as many guys as possible in the pageant, so they volunteered as the participants’ escorts.

Once the pageant began shortly after 6:30 p.m., the 24 participants, all PALS Club members, took the stage wearing sundresses and prom dresses accented by cowgirl boots and high heels.

Emcees senior Reagan Drake and PALS Club president sophomore Brooke Underwood read a short biography about each participant. That was followed by the question-and-answer portion of the night. Each participant was asked where she would live if she could live anywhere in the world and why. The girls named places from California to Italy.

Next up was the talent portion of the pageant. Nine participants put on a dazzling show as they touched the audience members’ hearts with their poetry recitations, singing their hearts out, and giving the audience a good laugh with their stand-up comedy acts. Some even did Zumba like Goodman, who made audience members want to get up and dance with her to the Pussycat Dolls’ “Jai Ho.”

Underwood said “you wouldn’t know they had these talents if you didn’t go and watch it” because special education students rarely get chances to perform.

Kelly, who expected 10 or 12 participants, ended up having 24 after special needs students from the other high school in the county joined the pageant.  Also, Kelly said they had another unexpected turnout.  She expected maybe 100 audience members but the number swelled to 450 with parents, relatives, friends, and faculty.

“It blew our expectations out of the water,” Kelly said.

“It was heartwarming seeing their parents and grandparents so excited and proud of their kids,” said Gagliano, who is the school speech therapist.

At the end of night, everyone walked away draped in sashes with their tiaras glittering and goodie bags in hand.  “We went with the theme ‘Everybody’s a winner,’” said Kelly, who emphasized that the pageant was not a contest but pure fun.

Kelly’s daughter Cami was voted as the winner of the People’s Choice Award, and although the night was not a fundraiser and was simply 90 minutes of glamour, sparkle, and fun, the PALS club raised $1,300, most of which came from their Silent Auction. The show proved to be a success and tons of fun.

“I enjoyed seeing my friends from other schools, and I would do it again,” junior Matthew Hunt said.

“It was so sweet and just heartwarming to hear them feel so good about themselves,” Kelly said. “It was a chance for people who have never had the chance to get up on stage and shine.”

According to several participants, it also brought some students out of their shells.  “It gave them confidence and showed them they can do what everybody else does,” Hartpence said.

Kelly, thrilled with this year’s turnout, has already started planning for next year.

“We’re thinking about making it a scholarship pageant next year,” she said.