Hundreds of locals and supporters from around the state will converge on Mexico this week for the annual Miss Missouri Pageant and it wouldn’t happen without a vast network of volunteers.

“We kind of call it the Miracle in Mexico,” Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization Executive Director Alice Leonatti told the Ledger. “It comes together and it happens.”

Leonatti is serving her third year as executive director but has decades of service to the organization. Leonatti started volunteering sometime after 1998 when her daughter, Christie Leonatti-Anliker finished competing in the competition from 1995-97.

Leonatti said the competition gets a lot of help from the local businesses and for many folks, it’s a long week. The ladies are not allowed to bring friends or family with them once the competition weeks start and have to depend on the volunteers.

“They give up a week of their lives to kind of be a surrogate mom for these young women and get them zipped up and fluffed and puffed,” Leonatti said.

The volunteers mostly have the same theme as to why they support the organizations. They love the relationships they build and they believe in the cause.

Joanne Nelson has been involved with the local board since 1976 off and on and is currently in her third year serving on the board this stint. Nelson said volunteers play much more of a role than just making sure a girl’s hair and makeup look right. During the week some emotional bonds are made.

“We’re their cheerleaders and we’re the huggers and the shoulders to cry on if they need it,” Nelson said.

Nelson said that everyone is exhausted at the end of the week, but it’s hard to say goodbye to the girls they just spent the week with.

“It’s a bittersweet thing because you’re so proud,” Nelson said. “It’s amazing how poised and self-assured and focused on the things that they want to do.”

Amy LeCount, executive director of the Miss Audrain County Scholarship Organization, said she also loves her special connections with the girls. One girl has stayed at her house for the past three years and it’s not uncommon for LeCount to pick up her cell phone and see a text message from one of the girls.

“You get to meet these girls and be involved in their lives,” LeCount said. “You become an older figure and a mentor to help them out. To me, that’s just wonderful.”

Like Nelson, LeCount said you can’t help but become a cheerleader for the girls. LeCount shared a story of a girl who would not let defeat at one pageant keep her from trying to win another. Her perseverance paid off.

“It’s awesome to see someone work so hard and grow so much to win something that she wanted,” LeCount said. “It’s a joy watching them grow in this organization.”

All the volunteers the Ledger spoke with brought up the importance of the scholarship money awarded to the girls who compete. Steve Wilson, executive director of the Miss Missouri Teen Scholarship Organization said there was a push in recent years to drastically increase the scholarships. In 2016 the organization gave out about $3,000 in scholarships but this year the organization will hand out $33,000 in scholarships.

“I’ve seen so many girls graduate college debt free because of this program,” Wilson said.

Wilson said what the program does to help and shape strong young women is what keeps volunteers coming back every year. 

“There are some ups and downs but I just have a love for the program,” Wilson said.

Nelson said at the end of the week there’s a certain satisfaction knowing the competition is sending a group of young women into the world ready to make a difference. She said the focus and work the girls put into social causes is amazing.

“They travel all over and they do things to make people understand that these are important things we need to pay attention to,” Nelson said. “They've learned there are more important things in the world than themselves and what they want to do on a Saturday night.”

Leonatti said she keeps up with a lot of girls on social media and every time she sees a post from one of them she knows the organization is doing good.

“They’re organizing fundraisers and they’re meeting with groups and speaking at the legislature about a cause they feel strongly about,” Leonatti said. “It blows me away to see some of their Facebook pages and to see what they’re doing.”