Pageants losing their allure?

Rachel Cole was crowned Miss Davis County on Oct. 15. But the 19-year-old Layton resident almost backed out of the competition before it began.

But the opportunity to work on her service platform of helping Davis County children combat negative messages convinced Cole that she needed to compete.

"I did it for service," Cole said. "I thought of the kind of rap that goes along with pageants, where people think you are just an airhead, but it came down to the fact that I said, 'I don't care what people think, this is for the kids.' "

Cole said local communities are losing interest in the pageants because of their reputation.

"I think (it's) because it has kind of a negative image to it right now, which is part of the reason I didn't originally want to do it," Cole said. "This was a last-minute thing for me."

Cole is not the only one who thinks local pageants are losing popularity.

Murray High School teacher Leesa Lloyd said that normally a dozen girls compete for the Miss Murray crown, but only eight turned out for this year's competition.

"Let me tell you, it's kind of a trend with local pageants," Lloyd said. "If you go look at the whole local pageants, there are maybe 5, 6, 7 or 8 competing."

The reigning Miss Utah, Julia Bachison of North Ogden, said local pageant interest goes up and down.

When Bachison competed in the Miss North Ogden pageant three years ago, there were only 10 contestants, the next year there were 12, and this year there were 16 with double crowns given out.

"I think that if the community has a strong title holder who gets out in the community and works on her platform and really gets involved in the community, there is a lot of interest," Bachison said.

Bachison, who was crowned Miss Utah on July 18, 2005, still doesn't know when she will be competing in the Miss America Pageant. In 2004, the Miss America Organization celebrated 50 years on television, but this year the organization found itself without a network. CMT picked up the pageant in June, but on Aug. 25, the organization announced its decision to move the pageant from Atlantic City.

Bachison said the pageant will be held sometime in January but she doesn't know where or exactly when.

"The reason Miss America is having such a hard time is not as many people are watching it on TV," Lloyd said.

The nation's waning interest in the Miss America Pageant may be affecting Utah's local pageants.