The lights dimmed and Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.” engulfed the Missouri Military Academy gymnatorium so the woman who once moonwalked on pointe shoes could take the stage once more.
McKensie Garber, Miss Missouri’s Teen 2011 and Miss Missouri 2015, returned to the Miss Missouri stage for her 10-year anniversary to welcome pageant-goers to the start of four days of competition as Wednesday night’s emcee.
Garber is from Hale, Missouri, a small town of less than 500 people. After graduating from Hale High School, she attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa where she studied journalism and, while it wasn’t her major, she also studied dance.
“I knew my goal was to go to Miss America and do a point dance and I wanted to maintain my technique, so I took dance classes in college,” Garber said.
The scope of the competition has changed drastically since Garber was a delegate.
“When I competed we had ‘swimsuit,’” Garber said. “It’s hard to pick the most nerve-racking thing, but I think walking on stage in a bikini is pretty nerve-racking – at least it was for me.”
The swimsuit segment of Miss America and affiliated competitions was last seen in 2018 and while Garber is glad they have gotten rid of that aspect of their pageants, she won the category at Miss America in 2015.
“I do think a lot of aspects of pageantry were dated and I love that Miss America has shifted from swimsuit to fitness,” Garber said. “I think it opens it up for more women from different religious and cultural backgrounds to compete and stay true to their values.”
The evening’s judges, there to oversee portions of fitness, talent, and evening gown preliminaries, were Dr. Debbye Turner Bell of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dana Rosengard of Hartford, Connecticut; Natalie Davis Wendling of Columbia, Missouri; Ken Hussey of Jefferson City, Missouri; and Robin Wenneker of Columbia, Missouri.
“Something cool about tonight is, our only Miss America from Missouri, Debbie Turner, is a judge and she was here the night I won – she emceed,” Garber said. “That’s a cool, full-circle thing.”
Wednesday night's show began with a choreographed performance by the Miss Delegates to ‘Abracadabra’ by Lady Gaga followed by Miss Missouri’s Teen delegates.
Erica Hebron, Miss Missouri 2010, has been the official producer and choreographer for Miss Missouri for the last five years.
Hebron spent her week fine tuning the girls’ on stage routines since they arrived earlier in the week following months of preparation. She said she spent seven hours on the introductions alone and that doesn’t include choreography.
The evening came to a close with the recognition of preliminary winners:
Teen Crown Rookie Evening Gown: Emme Hill - Miss Springfield’s Route 66’s Teen
Teen Crown Overall Evening Gown: Greta Clark - Miss Branson’s Teen
Miss Alpha Overall Evening Gown: Grayson Barnes - Miss Columbia
Teen Sash Rookie Talent: Maggie Bannester - Miss Mark Twain’s Teen
Teen Sash Overall Talent: Maggie Bannester - Miss Mark Twain’s Teen
Miss Sigma Rookie Talent: Kasey Krell - Miss North Kansas City
Miss Sigma Overall Talent: Courtney Rowe - Miss Kansas City
After Miss Missouri, Garber, who continues to pursue her passions for drama and writing, is focused on her acting career and will be on her way to Miami to shoot her second Lifetime movie, but before she goes, she leaves current and future contestants with a piece of advice:
“Have fun and trust your preparation because when you’re having fun, the judges and the audience are having fun and you are able to let your true self shine through more than if you are worried about being perfect.”
The competition continues tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
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