Emotional moments and beaming smiles bloomed on stage at the Sullivan Performing Arts Center when new titleholders were crowned Saturday night during the Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers Pageant.
Davis and Ferguson will compete this summer for the Miss Texas title, while Barfield will compete at the Miss Arkansas pageant. The Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers Pageant, which awards more than $80,000 in scholarships and other opportunities, is an official preliminary to Miss America.
Barfield's platform is called Energizing Youth: Promoting Healthy Habits in Children and Teens. She said that upon hearing her name called as the winner, she felt shocked. Barfield, who is from Texarkana, said she has always been interested in health and aims to become a pharmacist someday. Now, as Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers, she'll have a platform to empower youth to make good decisions about their physical health."This is something I've wanted for so long and as a former Teen (titleholder) I wanted it even more. And to have that dream realized is just incredible," Barfield said.
Davis, who is from DeKalb, Texas, said hearing her name called brought her joy.
"My mind was completely blank. I was just so happy," she said of that special moment.
Davis is a junior at Sam Houston State University, where she studies psychology. Her platform is Spread Cheer and Volunteer.
"I want to encourage all people to use their talents to volunteer in their community," she said.
Ferguson, who hails from Carthage, Texas, had a more unusual crowning moment. When her title was announced, it was with her correct name but the wrong contestant number, which caused a few moments of confusion on stage. But then the mistake was corrected and she was announced again as the titleholder.
Ferguson's platform focuses on literacy promotion.
"I chose that because I was a journalism major in college," she said. "I have graduated from Stephen F. Austin, so now I'm going to go to graduate school." .
Ferguson said she is passionate about reading hopes to become a journalism teacher.
And what did she think hearing her name but the wrong number?
"I kind of had a knot in my stomach, but this was my first pageant so I didn't expect to win," she said.
In fact, the contestant number called out was someone she'd befriended during the weekend, so she would have been happy for her.
"So if it wasn't me, I was glad that it would have been her," Ferguson said. But it was her, and she realized a dream in her very first pageant.
"I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm glad that they saw something in me that they believe in," Ferguson said.
Michelle Parham Rudolph was scheduled to emcee the show, but the weather prevented her from attending. Klancy Johnson and Frank Poff took over as masters of ceremonies. The Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers organization partnered with Texas High School's Tiger Vision and Tiger Theatre Company to produce the pageant.
(For more information, visit MissTexarkanaTwinRivers.org.)