Beauty contestants organize princess party for Make-A-Wish

MURRAY — Whitney Potter, 11, wears slippers everywhere she goes to protect the nerves in her bony feet from painful contact with the hard ground.

Weighing in at just 48 pounds, the Clearfield girl is the oldest living human diagnosed with a rare chromosomal disease that's slowly destroying her organs and nerve endings.

But Wednesday afternoon, the most notable part of the Whitney's appearance was a smile big enough to show all her teeth and a sparkling, sky blue princess dress.

The frail child was surrounded by beautiful young women competing to be Utah Junior Miss 2010. The 39 contestants were dressed to the nines and on their most gracious behavior, all to treat sick little girls to the princess party of their lives.

Charming princesses from tiny to teen wore shimmery dresses in every conceivable color, from blue and yellow pastel to deep burgundy and gold. Complete with glitter, curled ribbon and pink balloons, the meeting room at Make-A-Wish headquarters could have come straight out of a fairy tale.

The girls were greeted at the door by two "princes" from local high schools.

The teen contestants volunteered their time to be with the Make-A-Wish kids and brought more than $3,000 for the foundation. The funds will pay for a child and her family to visit Disney World to meet "real" princesses.

In between serving cookies and lemonade and posing for fancy photographs, contestant Janelle Petersen boogied with Sarah Loop, 6. The Magna girl has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia but is slowly starting to "get back to normal," according to her mother.

Petersen, 18, is herself a contemporary dancer and calls the activity her emotional outlet.

"It's kind of an overwhelming experience," she said. "It makes me realize how blessed I am."

Later, teen beauty Lexi Childs and the ailing but talkative child sang Disney love songs along with the stereo.

"It's been so good for me," said Childs, 17, a self-described "princess freak." "This is what I want to do. I want to work with kids."

Utah Junior Miss contestants are participating in a week's worth of activities. Saturday, a winner will be chosen and awarded scholarship money. She will then compete with high school students from across the country.

For more information, visit ajm.org.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com