Dennis, Noonan reflect on crowning experience

“It feels awesome,” Tyson Dennis remarked Monday just minutes after walking off the stage where he had been crowned the 2002 Fun in the Sun king.
“I totally didn’t see it coming.
“I had a blast doing this, I never even thought about being king,” added Dennis, noting the best part of the FITS pageant experience was getting involved in the community.
“It’s definitely exciting,” agreed Sarah Noonan, who was crowned 2002 FITS queen. “I think every girl up there thought they had a chance. But to actually hear your name being called out, I was pretty shocked.
“I’m so happy I did this. I was kind of hesitant to sign up at first—I didn’t know if this was really for me,” Noonan continued, noting the scholarship prize of between $3,000-$4,000 will be put to good use when she attends university in the fall.
“It feels pretty good,” echoed Lorne Koski (Skates & Blades), who was crowned First Prince on Monday at Pither’s Point. “It was a lot of fun, and it certainly improved my speaking skills in front of people.”
Koski also won top honours among the eight king contestants at the entertainment night portion of the pageant held June 23 at Warp 9 for a swing dance number he did with Jessica Wilson (The Olde & Resold Shoppe).
“I’m so excited right now,” enthused Kayla Caul, who was crowned First Princess.
“There’s 11 girls and they’re all awesome,” she added, noting it didn’t matter that she wasn’t named queen. “It’s a worthwhile experience to do this.”
Hope Wilson (Dairy Queen) was named Second Princess while Jamie Pryde (West End Motors) was crowned Second Prince. Rick Ricard (Pharmasave) and Alison McIvor (M&S Bootery and Sportique) were named Mr. and Miss Congeniality, respectively.
“It was a huge surprise. I’m very happy for Tyson and Lorne but I never thought I’d be picked,” enthused Pryde.
Pryde also said he would recommend being a FITS contestant to anyone, adding his favourite part of the past month or so was taking part in the Canada Day parade.
“It was a lot of fun putting the float together,” he said, referring to the “Mountie” float which landed him and his family the prize for “best theme.”
While co-organizer Rachel Thiessen couldn’t be on hand for the crowning Monday, Sherri Puddicombe was thrilled to see the pageant—the second she’s helped organize—come together.
“It was awesome. It turned out really good,” she remarked. “The competition was so close, I was scared we were going to have a tie.”
She added this year’s pageant was a lot different than last year’s, which only saw six candidates vying for the queen crown.
“It was hard to organize this with so many people involved. But the kids worked hard, they were great. I felt it was at least as good as last year,” Puddicombe said.
The July 1 pageant not only included the parade and interview portion, but also the picnic basket auction, at which Jessica Wilson fetched the top bid ($160).
The number for the winning FITS button also was pulled Monday. Anyone with a Sarah Angus button bearing the number 0169 should bring it to the Chamber of Commerce office (across from Safeway) to collect their prize—$100 in loonies.
Rounding out the queen contestants were Heather Algie (Lakeland Personnel), Shanna Calder (Weeza’s Gifts, Etc.), Sara Fitzgerald (Gillons’ Insurance), Melanie Hyatt (Legion Br. #29), and Tanis McTavish (MacDonald Motors).
The other four king contestants were Jamie Algie (Happy Chappy’s Swinging Sounds—Adrian Chapman), Karl Martinson (Howarth’s Home Centre), Dan Robinson (Morgan and Associates), and Ryan Whalen (Tom Veert Contracting Ltd.).
Also on hand for the crowning ceremony were 2001 FITS queen April Matheson, First Princess Sarah Hebert, and Second Princess Lindsay Cawston.
In Thiessen’s absence, Jeannette Cawston helped with the interview portion Monday.