2014 Miss Ville Platte royalty to relinquish titles Sunday afternoon March 29

The Ville Platte Women’s Association will be sponsoring its 30th annual Miss Ville Platte Scholarship Queen’s Contest on Sunday, March 29. Co-sponsors for the event are Mayor Jennifer Vidrine and the City of Ville Platte. The contest will be held at the Ville Platte Civic Center beginning at 9 a.m. As the three 2014 queens prepare to relinquish their titles Sunday afternoon, they reflect on their exciting year of fun and travel while representing the City of Ville Platte.
Miss Ville Platte Montrell Reshawn Thomas
Miss Ville Platte Montrell Reshawn Thomas, the daughter of Desmond and Rebecca Thomas, exclaims, “Wow, has the time flew by. Going from Teen Miss Ville Platte to Miss Ville Platte has been such a great journey and a blessing. I wish that I could do it all over again.” She says she has met many awesome friends and gained so much from this experience. She admits, “I wish that I could have traveled more as your Miss Ville Platte queen, but it was quite hard to do being in college. However, I still made a way to travel and show Louisiana the great qualities and culture that Ville Platte has to offer.” Thomas shares that the Cotton Festival was her favorite event, “Not only because it was in Ville Platte, but being around all of my rhinestone sisters for a cabin sleepover eating pizza and candy all night was a blast. Not to mention, the thousands of times that we rode the boat and competed to see which side could scream louder.” She notes, “I want to thank my amazing director, Dalayne Veillon, for going beyond for me this year. She was always there when I needed her every step of the way, from encouraging words to hunting for clear heels to compete in.” She continues, “I also want to thank my mom for being the best pageant mom she could be, always making sure my crown was pinned on tight enough, I had every pin that I needed for my banner, making quick alterations on my dresses and suits and keeping me together when things didn’t fall into place. I would have gone crazy without you. Dad, most queens can’t say this but you are truly the best pageant dad. Coming to my pageants may not be your cup of tea, but you still manage to come just to support me and see a smile on my face. I love both of you guys.” To her successor, Thomas shares, “Wear the crown with the upmost honor and show Louisiana what Ville Platte is all about.” Finally, she thanks the community saying, “Hopefully you are in attendance March 29, to see who will be the lucky girl to represent you in being the next Miss Ville Platte. In case you aren’t going to be there, for the last time, I am, and forever will be, your 2014 Miss Ville Platte, Montrell Thomas.”
Teen Miss Ville Platte Kelsey
Brianne McDaniel
Teen Miss Ville Platte Kelsey Brianne McDaniel, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Guillory and the late Coty McDaniel, admits, “It seems crazy to think that it has already been an entire year since I was crowned Teen Miss Ville Platte. Being an ambassador of my home town has opened doors for me that would not have been possible under other circumstances.” She continues, “From this invigorating experience, I have gained poise, responsibility and leadership skills that I will benefit from for the rest of my life. Traveling to various events around the state of Louisiana, from Lecompte for a slice of pie at the pie pageant to Lake Charles to learn the pirate way of life at the Contraband Festival, I have met numerous people and made wonderful memories that I will always cherish.” She concludes by saying, “I invite everyone to come and join me as I relinquish my title as Teen Miss Ville Platte on March 29, at the Ville Platte Civic Center. See you there!”
Junior Miss Ville Platte Jillian
Grace Thille
Junior Miss Ville Platte Jillian Grace Thille, the daughter of David and Amanda Thille, recalls, “My decision to compete was last minute. My mom and Mrs. Dalayne Veillon encouraged me to compete and I did not know what this was all about. I am so glad I did. I have made many new friends, made memories that will last a lifetime for me and traveled to places around our state I may not have seen at all.” She admits, however, that “The most fun I had was right here in Ville Platte. I learned more about our town and parish this past year than I had known before. For example, Ville Platte is home to the largest state park, which is Chicot State Park, and also home to the first state supported Arboretum. It is also the half way point between New Orleans and Natchitoches, which is how Ville Platte came to be. Because it was the center point of the El Camino Royal, it was a last flat stopping point and trading post before heading north.”
Thille shares, “I had the opportunity to attend the Miss USA pageant and meet Miss Louisiana USA, Teen Louisiana USA, some finalists and a few contestants. I even got a picture of Donald Trump. My sister queens took me everywhere my mom allowed them to. I traveled out of town to Railroad Days, Washington Catfish, Erath 4th of July, KBON Music Festival, Cajun Music Festival in Mamou and Boggy Bayou Festival. But most of my adventures were here in Ville Platte. I attended the First Community Garden planting, Christmas tree lighting, TV 10 broadcast, Belaire Cove Crawfish Etouffee Cook-off, Smoked Meats Festival, Cotton Festival, Le Tournoi, Relay For Life of Evangeline Parish and the Saint Jude Bike-A-Thon in Mamou.” She adds, “I even got to take a selfie with Geno Delafosse!”
The three most important things Thille says she has learned from her reign are “to have a servant’s heart because that is what a real queen is. She is here to serve and support the people in her community and organization she represents. Be brave and open to new experiences; because if you don’t try, you will never know what you could be missing. And finally, always be on your best behavior and smile, because some little girl is looking up to you and wants to be you one day.”
In closing, Thille says, “I want to thank Mrs. Dalayne for all she does to make the Miss Villle Platte pageants happen. So many girls would miss out on an experience of a lifetime. And now I know first hand what it means when the other queens say, ‘You have never seen Louisiana till you have seen it though the eyes of a queen.’”