Miss Door County is holding its 26th annual pageant on Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Southern Door County Auditorium. The pageant is a local preliminary to the Miss Wisconsin and Miss America opportunities. The mission of Miss America is to “provide contestants with the opportunity to pursue their professional and educational goals through monetary grants and awards.

This year’s contestants competing for Miss Door County and Miss Door County’s Outstanding Teen include Vanessa DeMarinis, Kylee Duessler, Abrielle Lenius, Anna Delke, Isabel Jeanquart, Emily Bley, and Sayde Jeanquart. The pageant includes the opening number, interview, athletic wear, talent, onstage questions, and evening gown. Sevastopol has two contestants vying for crowns.

Senior Emily Bley is competing for her third year as Miss Door County’s Outstanding Teen. Last year, she won on stage questions and evening gown. Her community service initiative is Nutrition Before Competition. Bley’s initiative is personally important to her.

“My community service, nutrition before competition, is really close to me and close to my heart because it is something that I struggled with for a really long time,” Bley said. “So I want to make a change to help others like I was helped.” 

Kylee Duessler, also a senior at Sevastopol, is competing for Miss Door County for the first time. She is a straight-A student who plays volleyball, basketball, and track. Duessler sees this competition as a way to branch out.

¨I decided to compete in Miss Door County because it is something that has always been on my bucket list, something I could always prove to myself that I could do, and it’s a way to get out into the community and meet more people,¨ Duessler said.

On Saturday night, Sevastopol’s own Lindsay Schuh (class of 2023) will crown the new Miss Door County. Schuh spent the last year working on her kindness initiative as Miss Door County, and she has enjoyed every minute of it and encourages others to compete in the future.

“One piece of advice I would tell anyone wanting to compete for Miss Door County would be to do it,” Schuh said. “You have nothing to lose, but so much to gain!”

The competition takes place on Feb. 3, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the Southern Door Community Auditorium.