Determination, grace and poise: Orangeburg County Fair announces pageant winners

• Tiny Master: Weston Lee Jackson

• Wee Miss: Ellie Bradleigh Ziegler

• Toddler Miss: Hallie Rae Mimms

• Tiny Miss: Olivia Traxler

• Petite Miss: Zadie Gracelynn Wade

• Preteen Miss: Harriett Grace Judy

• Teen Miss: Leigha Elizabeth Maier

• Miss: Ashley Caroline Goettee

• Scholarship recipient: Cierra Banks

Ashley Caroline Goettee, crowned Miss Orangeburg County Fair, worked for two years to prepare herself as an outstanding pageant contestant and presented herself with determination, grace and poise.

“Two years ago, when I was still new to pageantry, I competed in the OC Fair pageant and did not do as well as I had hoped. This was my chance to show how much I have improved,” said Goettee, the 18-year-old daughter of Dale and Samantha Kizer, who plans to begin cosmetology school at Paul Mitchell the School in Charleston this November.

“I would like to open a pageant consultant studio where I can coach, do hair and make-up and photography,” said the young lady, who also enjoys exercising and spending time with her five siblings.

“This title is a representation of my hard work over the last two-and-a-half years,” she said.

According to pageant guidelines, the contestant in the Miss OCF category to receive the highest combined score from beauty and outfit choice would be awarded a scholarship derived from pageant proceeds and a donation from the OCF committee.

The 2021 scholarship recipient, Cierra Banks, a graduate of Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, is currently a 20-year-old nursing student at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and works as an intern at the Regional Medical Center.

Banks plans to use the scholarship for tuition and books, and upon graduating OCtech, she is wishes to continue her studies at the University of South Carolina where she can obtain her master’s degree in behavioral health.

“While going to school, I plan to continue participating in pageants. I want to share my platform all while representing my community and inspiring others,” said Banks, the daughter of Keisha and David Banks.

“My platform, “No Resident Left Behind,” was created after I visited my grandmother in different nursing homes and I realized that a lot of them are left behind with not much, no family and no personal items. I have volunteered, played bingo, helped plan holiday parties and collected blankets to donate,” she said, adding that she’d like to see more young people get involved.

As part of her platform, Banks challenges dance studios to schedule performances to entertain those in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. She also suggests that elementary school children could write cards and perhaps establish a “writing buddy” type of activity.

“I want my participation to help shed the negative notion that some people have about pageants by showing what good can come from them,” she said.

The 2021 Orangeburg County Fair is scheduled to run from Tuesday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 10.