Time certainly has a way of passing quickly.
I discovered just a few moments ago that Tiffany Owings has been named interim executive director of the Barton County Chamber of Commerce. Tiffany is a 1997 graduate of Lamar High School.
I remember Tiffany and several members of that graduating class because the 1996-97 school year pretty much coincided with the dates the late, lamented weekly newspaper, The Lamar Press, was published.
The Chamber is certainly lucky to have such a hard-working young woman at its helm.
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I haven't heard how the Lamar Miss Merry Christmas Pageant turned out today though it has always been a top attraction during this time of year.
My favorite pageant was the year that I made the big mistake. Right now, I can't recall which year it was, but the highlight of that day in the Thiebaud Auditorium was when six-foot-two inch contestant Andrea Swearingen had to make her entrance under a six-foot arch.
The multi-talented Miss Swearingen, who was also a top-notch basketball player, first for Coach Richard Marti's Lamar High School team and later for Southwest Baptist University, stepped up to the arch, gave a slightly startled look, then smiled, ducked her head under and came through without a hitch.
I surmised in my article in the following Monday's Carthage Press that her cool under pressure reaction may have swayed the judges in her direction. Unfortunately, I was a little careless with my facts. Normally, the initial group of contestants is trimmed to a top 10, only this time there was a tie and there were 11. My list only contained 10 as I left out Karen Earl's name.
Of course, The Press ran a correction, but the real fun came when The Lamar Democrat came out on Wednesday. The Democrat reporter also emphasized Andrea's incident with the arch. Nothing unusual with that, it was a big moment, even though I was the only one at the time (and actually to this very day) who did feature stories on queen contests and beauty pageants. But it quickly became apparent that the reference was not just a coincidence...since the Democrat reporter's top 10 list also left out one name...Karen Earl's.
I am not going to mention the name of the reporter, who has gone on to have an excellent journalistic reputation. A case of lost notes was responsible. I received an apology from the reporter, even though I wasn't offended. The plagiarism simply pointed people in the direction of the original story and I didn't mind that at all.
Congratulations to whichever young women were crowned Lamar's Christmas royalty today.