By Lisa Byers

Meadville Tribune

SAEGERTOWN — Heather Clancy Young has been an admirer of beauty pageants since she was a child and vowed during the crowning of Miss Crawford County many years ago to win a crown of her own one day.

Then it was all about the sparkling crown and the glitz and glamour that came along with it. But for the last decade Clancy Young has dedicated herself to bringing to light the true meaning of a pageant queen. On Saturday, the former Miss Crawford County took another step toward that initiative with the crowning of Miss Meadville Area Meredith Semon.

“I strongly believe in the scholarships and the achievements you can achieve through (the Miss Meadville Area Scholarship Organization),” Clancy Young said. “It’s a stepping stone in life and each one of them will realize the doors it opens and the opportunities they will be provided.

“It’s not the girl that makes the crown. It’s what the crown makes the girl.”

Semon is excited to see where her crown will lead her.

Semon, a resident of West Newton and a student at Allegheny College, outlasted six other contestants for the title of Miss Meadville Area and the opportunity to represent the community at the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant in June.

This is the first year for the Miss Meadville Area Scholarship Organization’s affiliation with the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization. The Miss Meadville Area Scholarship Organization previously crowned just a Miss Meadville Outstanding Teen with that winner going on to compete at the Pennsylvania Outstanding Teen Pageant. Miss Meadville saw her fortunes end at the night of the pageant.

“This is such a great experience,” Semon said. “I love being a representative of Meadville from Allegheny College. It’s such a great school and it’s great for me to represent where I go to school, which is in Meadville.”

Semon, a physics major at Allegheny, will use her title not only as an opportunity to grow as a person as Clancy Young stressed, but as an opportunity to continue to raise awareness to her platform, which is “Check it out: Children’s Reading Literacy.” Clancy Young feels Semon will be a great ambassador for the Meadville community, which continues to embrace Allegheny College.

“From the minute she walked in the door, everyone welcomed her with opened arms,” Clancy Young said. “Allegheny has empowered and become a part of the Meadville community. They’ve made that statement very strongly and she has done the same. She doesn’t act like she’s not from here. She immediately walked in and embrace the Meadville community, and I truly feel she will be a great representative for us.”

Semon was part of a very talented group of contestants, many of which got the audience clapping during the talent portion of the competition. Semon chose to do a self-choreographed dance to “Adagio” that drew a thunderous applause. There were several other show-stopping dance performances and a powerful vocal performance by Meadville’s Abby Phillips that helped lead her to the title of Miss Meadville Outstanding Teen, which was held by Marissa Robison.

“While I was sitting down front before they announced the winners, my husband said to me, ‘Heather, in the 11 years that you’ve done this, I think this is the best show you’ve ever had as far as all of these girls coming out and doing the best that they could do,’” Clancy Young said. “I think they were all deserving of the crown.”

Conneautville’s Cassandra Wasson was the first runner-up for Miss Meadville Area, while Conneautville’s Lacey Weaver was named second runner-up.