Miss Fashionetta honors best and brightest
By Gerald Pace
For The St. Louis American
Sheer Elegance. Those are the best words to describe this year’s Fashionetta Cotillion. The cotillion coined as “An Evening to Remember: Excellence and Elegance” was sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter. Sunday evening at the Millennium Hotel about 500 people were present as 11 hopeful teenage girls, alongside escorts, walked the glistening runway vying to be the next Miss Fashionetta.
“This is a great moment,” said Vickie Newton, KMOV-TV Channel 4 anchor, who served as a commentator alongside Bonita Cornute from KTVI-Fox 2. “It highlights the excellence found in our community.
“There is so much talent and poise on that stage. Every time I see that curtsy, I’m astonished,” she said as the debutantes entered the ballroom.
Aisha Barnes, Ashiya Buckels, Aleisha Gilliam, Kellie Herndon, Tameshia Hughes, Christina McCauley, Jerrica Patton, Clarissa Polk, Dominique Stegall, Kristen Tolliver and Kristin Williams all went through the eight-month debutante program. Kristin Williams was crowned 2006 Miss Fashionetta by 2005 winner Jennifer Buck for being the highest scholarship fundraiser. Williams received a $4,300 scholarship toward her college education.
Aleisha Gilliam was fourth runner-up, Jerrica Patton came in third, Christina McCauley was second runner-up and Clarissa Polk was first runner-up.
Williams, the daughter of Lonzo and Kathy Williams, is a senior at Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School. She plans to attend Southeast Missouri State to study biology and business.
“I was really happy about it. I didn’t expect it,” Williams said of being crowned Miss Fashionetta. “I expected other people to raise more. I was in it for fun and not just to get scholarships. I wanted to build relationships with other girls.”
The cotillion began with a prelude from the St. Louis Youth Chamber Ensemble conducted by Brian Kellum. Dinner was followed by a formal presentation of the girls and escorts and musical performances were rendered by A. Jeanette White and Preston Bosley.
Two very moving moments of the cotillion were the tribute to the mothers of the debutantes and the cotillion dance with their fathers. The Fashionetta Program has operated for 23 years. During an eight-month period, the female debutantes and male escorts undergo a rigorous schedule preparing them to be introduced to society. They participate in college workshops and community service.
“The Fashionetta Program which is a signature program helps us showcase high school seniors which I consider our next generation of leaders,” said Andriette Fields, president of the Gamma Omega chapter.
Fields added that the program was not just about pretty dresses. “This year they visited nursing homes and served Katrina victims on Thanksgiving Day,” she said.
“While they embark on their new stage in life, we have an opportunity to help them transition from adolescents to adults.”
She said every participant that reached the financial quota for fundraising will receive some type of financial assistance towards their college education. The Stanley F. Buck Science Award, Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Scholarship Award, Nathaniel Murdock Award and several others were awarded to the escorts and debutantes.
“It’s a good experience even if you don’t win,” Williams said.
Williams’ mother, also a former debutante, said she was proud to of her daughter’s participation in the Fashionetta Program.
“The activities we went through were really good for personal development. It prepared us for society and to step out into the world,” Kathy Williams said.
“We wanted our daughter to learn sisterhood, but when she became Miss Fashionetta, it was like icing on the cake. It’s a mother’s dream come true.”
