Miss Fraser Valley, a.k.a. G.W. Graham student Brittany Clough, volunteers at the Women's Expo at Heritage Park earlier this month.
Photograph by: Cornelia Naylor , TIMES
G.W. Graham Grade 12 student Brittany Clough isn't going to let high heels and a bikini get in the way of $30,000 worth of scholarship money.
The offer caught her eye on Face-book a few months ago, and when it turned out to be for a beauty contest, she thought "Why not!"
Clough is headed for the Miss Teen Canada World pageant in Toronto in July after being crowned Miss Fraser Valley in a provincial competition last month.
It's not the 17-year-old's usual cup of tea, but she's come to appreciate what Miss Teen Canada World stands for.
"Usually when you think about beauty pageants you just think who's the skinniest, who's the prettiest, who can walk the best in heels," she said. 'It obviously has that aspect to it too, but they're looking for girls who are beautiful on the inside and out."
Along with beauty prizes, the national competition also features awards for essay writing and talent.
And the bikini contest? "That wasn't my favourite part," said Clough of the provincial competition, "but I was OK with it because they want to find girls who are also devoted to fitness and staying healthy."
More challenging for someone who likes wearing slippers and moccasins to school, she said, was walking around in four-inch heels for 10 hours two days straight.
"I definitely need to start practising in heels before nationals again," she said.
One thing that should give Clough- a nine-year student of the Chilliwack school of performing arts-a decided edge in Toronto is the talent competition.
For her performance she plans to pull out one of her favourite musical theatre numbers.
"They're really character-y, so they'll show my personality on stage," she said.
As Miss Fraser Valley, Clough has already volunteered with Run for the Cure, the Women's Expo and in a Promontory elementary Grade 1 classroom, but she is also planning a major fundraiser for Free the Children on May 11.
The event will pit Chilliwack against neighbouring Abbotsford to see which community can be the first to free a cage of volunteer youths by completing a mall-based scavenger hunt.
? To find out more information or to sponsor Clough's campaign to bring the Miss Teen Canada World crown to Chilliwack, email brittanyclough@ hotmail.com or visit Clough's Face-book page at www.facebook.com/ MissTeenFraserValleyWorld2013.
