And the Winner is...

On Feb. 16, community members gathered in support of the the Miss Moreno Valley Scholarship pageant at the Moreno Valley Banquet Hall, which was adorned beautifully with rhinestones and plush fabrics. Seven local ladies graced the stage demonstrating their intellect, grace and character. The proud parents, family members and friends supported the contestants with flowers, cheers and signs throughout the evening. Even the “visiting royalty” from all over the Inland Empire came out to support the excited contestants. Lia Freeman, a two-time title holder of Miss Inland Empire 2013-2014 and Miss California Plus America, expressed how much she loves representing her community and is excited about going to nationals in Georgia this year. “I have only competed in one scholarship pageant so far, but I am definitely going to continue competing in more,” says Quetzal Meraz, 2014 Miss Fontana Princess. The contestants: Ariana Morales, 13 years old, goes to Palm Middle School; Ashley Casillas, 16 years, goes to Moreno Valley High School; Agienna Lewis, 17 years old, goes to Canyon Springs High School; Melanie Villarreal, 21 years old, goes to California Baptist University; Diamond Scott, 18 years old, goes to Riverside Community College; Isabel Guerra, 22 years old, goes to Riverside Community College; Kim Phan, 23 years old, graduated from UC Berkeley in 2012. The two young ladies who earn the titles of the 2014 Miss Moreno Valley and Miss Teen Moreno Valley will also have the unique honor of being the “ambassadors of the city,” bringing amicable support to various events, local business, civic organizations and serve as positive role models to local youth. Miss Greater Inland Empire 2014, Danielle Alcantar and Executive Director Miguel Sarasa, kicked off the evening with sportswear. The girls walked across the stage with confidence and poise, giving eye contact to the judges, audience members and of course the cameras. The pageant came to a high point when each contestant was summoned to the stage to answer a random question that was pulled from a jar. During the brief intermission the auditors, Nick Pickering and Tammy Rivers, tallied up the points given by the judges. After the intermission, the audience took the their seats and the anxious ladies took the stage. They waited with baited breath and the winner was announced: Isabel Guerra!