When she was 7, Madison Manuel just wanted to be a princess.
She made her parents let her enter the Saratoga County Fair Pageant and was crowned Sweetheart of the Sweetheart division (6- and 7-year-olds) in her first beauty pageant stint ever.
Now 15, the Clifton Park beauty queen is no stranger to the pageant circuit. But, unlike her 7-year-old self of years past, being a princess is no longer the draw to compete.
`My platform is Connecting Cliques to stop bullying,` said Manuel. `Now what attracts me to pageantry is I want to implement my platform and want it to be statewide.`
Pioneering the program she created is much easier when you have something to distinguish yourself with, said Manuel.
`For some reason, when I was just doing it without crowns or sashes, people kind of listened but I didn’t get too much adult attention,` said Manuel. `I use my crowns and sashes like my little microphone because it seems to attract a lot more attention.`
Combating bullying is something near and dear to Manuel’s heart and she has no qualms about sharing the very personal story that jumpstarted it all.
`I was physically bullied last year and I realized once it happened to me that it could happen to anybody and it made me start to pay attention to what was going on in my school,` said Manuel.
She became a Prejudice Reduction Leader for the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) at her school, a leadership building organization, where she collected students from all the schools in the Shenendehowa Central School District and brought them together to discuss and foster connectivity and acceptance.
`We brought them together to make them realize that the cliques going on in our schools don’t need to be there. We educate them to make them realize everybody is similar to each other,` said Manuel. `I feel that I really brought a lot of the people that went a big change because when other kids go in there it opens their lives and they don’t have to be mean to one another.`
Forming Connecting Cliques and promoting it through her website, www.madisonmanuel.webs.com, helped the young activist take her message to another level.
`We recently put on a free self defense class and taught people how to prevent themselves from being put into a bullying situation and how to get out of one if you’re put into it; how to defend yourself,` said Manuel.
Her website has links to informational websites, organizations and tips she can vouch for firsthand about how to know if you’re a bully, how to recognize if you’re being bullied and what to do if someone you know is getting bullied.
`What I really want to do soon is implement some things in my school [Shenendehowa High School],` said Manuel.
Don’t forget about the launching pad that made her anti-bullying campaigns possible: pageantry.
Manuel has competed in the Miss America Outstanding Teen program and is the current Miss Upstate New York Outstanding Teen.
`My platform Connecting Cliques really coincides with Children’s Miracle Network platform for the Miss America Organization,` said Manuel.
Since pageantry is about much more than the gowns and makeup, Manuel said she has no interest in racking up title after title.
`I’m not interested in doing too many others except Miss America Outstanding Teen and the Saratoga County Fair pageant because that’s what I grew up on,` said Manuel.
It’s easy to get caught up in the superficial side of pageants, said Manuel, but her attitude toward pageants is what she said all young contestants should work toward.
`You can’t just have outer beauty, you definitely need inner beauty because you can get really focused on what you look like when you’re about to go on stage,` said Manuel. `You definitely have to look good and have a healthy lifestyle but if you don’t have inner beauty there’s no point in doing it because the whole point of getting a title is to do something with it.`
Manuel said contestants who are serious about continuing in beauty pageants should find something to be passionate about.
`You need to be passionate about something because as a title holder you definitely do a lot of volunteer service,` said Manuel. `You can’t just stand there and say ‘I got this, I don’t need to do anything more with it.’ A lot of people start listening once you get it.`
Pageant Director Michele Zavadil said she makes sure the Saratoga County Beauty Pageant doesn’t focus too much on the beauty side of things.
`Although it’s labeled a beauty pageant, my purpose is to give the girls the experiene of being on stage, presenting themselves publically, speaking to an audience,` said Zavadil. `I try to make it a very positive experience. I don’t focus on the traditional beauty pageant element.`
Through the years, Manuel had to dispel the stereotypes and stigma that some people attach to beauty pageants and beauty queens. It was an additional mission she was happy to tackle.
`When I first started my friends didn’t really agree with it because of the stereotype that goes with pageantry; that all beauty queens are ditzy, don’t have a brain, don’t have opinions on anything and just want to go up there and have cakey make up on and fake eyelashes,` said Manuel. `Once I started doing stuff with my titles like going out and creating my website and talking to teenagers my age, my friends really appreciated what I did and they think it’s great.`
Manuel said once she ages out of the Miss America Outstanding Teen program at 17, Miss America is in her future.
`I think I could further implement my campaign with that system when I’m older,` said Manuel.
The Saratoga County Fair Pageant will be held Tuesday, July 19, at 4 p.m. in the Talent Pavilion near Gate One. There are 10 divisions and available titles are Miss Saratoga County Fair Queen, Little Miss, Sweetheart, Princess, Young Miss and Honor Queen.
The pageant is only one part of the 170th Saratoga County Fair. From July 19 to 24, from 9 a.m. to midnight, fairgoers can choose from various entertainment, more than 100 vendors and exhibits of antiques, home arts, fine arts, flowers, farm and garden.
An animal area is a family favorite, carnival rides are ever popular and there are horse and cattle events, talent competitions and various grandstand shows. According to information from the fair, around 100,000 people attend each year. General Admission Tuesday through Thursday is $8 and from Friday to Sunday it’s $10. Senior citizens over 65 are $4 on Wednesdays until 5 p.m. and children under 52 inches and military are free all week.
The Saratoga County Fairgrounds are at 162 Prospect St. in Ballston Spa. For a full list of events and more information, visit www.saratogacountyfair.org.
“