At age 8, Reagan Feltrop won Searcy’s Holiday of Lights pageant, her first pageant win, and didn’t consistently pick up the hobby again until her sophomore year of high school, when she joined the White County Fair Queen pageant.
After a few years of competing in the pageant, Feltrop, now 18, took home the title of White County Fair Queen on Sept. 12, and Feltrop said pageants are more than what some may think.
“In pageants, there’s a stereotype where it’s all about how you look and everything, but what makes it fun is finding out more about yourself,” she said. “Through interviews and learning about other girls, you learn about your strengths and weaknesses.”
Feltrop’s mother, Cassandra, advised her and her older sister Jordan to compete in the White County Fair Queen Pageant.
“That type of activity leads you to be able to speak more confidently when you’re public speaking and become a leader,” Cassandra Feltrop said. “It teaches you poise and teaches you grace to accept winning or losing because not everybody’s a winner. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about growing yourself in everything you attempt to do. I think that kind of activity encouraged growth in them.”
Being involved in the pageant community helped Reagan Feltrop realize how varied the competitors are, she said.
“Sometimes, you do get stereotyped for being in a pageant: ‘Well, you must be one of those girls,’” she said. “After being in those pageants, I realized there’s no ‘those girls.’ It’s many different girls. It’s hard to explain that sometimes to people who haven’t been in pageants. It’s really not anything people think it is.”
Feltrop is currently a University of Central Arkansas freshman with a double major in sociology and criminology. Though she hadn’t consistently competed in pageants throughout childhood like other contestants, she said, growing more confident took her far in her pageant career.
“The only challenging part was stepping into it with girls who did know the pageant walk and how to conduct themselves in an interview,” she said. “That’s why I continued to do it for so long because I didn’t know how to do it exactly at first.”
She said she didn’t necessarily go through pageant training, but rather her mother and a family friend helped her prepare for interviews and walking.
“We just kind of did it on our own,” Feltrop said.
Feltrop said she is passionate about helping others, which led her to choose her two majors and to be involved with Baptist Collegiate Ministries on campus.
“When I was in ninth or 10th grade, I decided that I wanted to be a counselor, and then as I got older, I didn’t really think that was for me, but I wanted to help people like that,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in criminal law and everything like that. When I heard that was a possibility for me to study, I decided to go ahead and go for it.”
“Along with my degree — why I wanted to be a counselor — I’ve always had this desire to help people. For example, in [Baptist Collegiate Ministries] on campus, we’ve had several opportunities to help people in Louisiana with the flood, go spread the Gospel, go do work for people.”
Feltrop said she most looks forward to the interview portion of the competition.
“I used to be scared of the interviews with the judges, but I think that’s my favorite part now because it’s the chance to tell people about yourself and what you stand for,” she said. “I really am comfortable and confident with who I am. They’re always super nice. They always make it easy on you.”
Feltrop will compete in the preliminary round of the Arkansas State Fair pageant on Oct. 19. If she lands in the top three of that pageant, she will advance to compete in the Arkansas State Fair pageant on Oct. 22.
“Win or lose, she’s done great, and we’re proud of her and her accomplishments,” Cassandra Feltrop said. “She’s represented White County very well.”
Reagan Feltrop said she advises the community to experience a pageant.
“It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s really not anything people think it is,” she said. “Come and experience it. It won’t be what you expect, and you’ll be satisfied with what you see.”
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.