9 West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona, Friday, April 13, 2012
A great senior moment
2 W.V. women among top 5 in Ms. Senior Arizona pageant
by Rachel Trott staff writer
Two West Valley women placed among the top five contestants at the 23rd annual Ms. Senior Arizona pageant March 24. Unetha Anderson of Buckeye earned
first runner-up and Joan Schield of Goodyear won fourth runner-up as well as the most photogenic award.
Talents and philosophies The Ms. Senior Arizona pageant is open
to women 60 and older who wish to display their inner beauty, talents and philosophy of life. Pageant contestants participate in several
segments, including evening gown wear, a private interview with the judges, giving a speech on their personal life philosophy and showcasing a talent.
Anderson chose to sing G ladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” for her talent performance. “I grew up on the Motown sound. Gladys
Knight, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, all of them were my idols,” Anderson said. “On my flier [for the pageant] they put ‘superstar.’ That’s how I’ve always dreamt myself, being a superstar, and I got a chance to be that. I got a chance to be Gladys Knight in my heart and people received it. It was wonderful.” The participants also had 30 seconds to share their personal philosophy of life with the judges and audience. For Schield, cutting down her life philosophy to such a short amount of time was difficult at first. Her philosophy was influenced by her experiences overcoming health problems and other adversities to successfully open two companies in the tenant screening business and raise a family, she said. “I was going through laser treatments for malignant melanoma in my left eye. It was one bleep at a time, 355 bleeps across the back of my eye. What they did with those laser treatments ultimately left me blind,” she said. “I felt my flesh sizzle and pop and fry like bacon, I saw it smoke, I was going blind.”
Schield eventually lost her left eye because of the procedures, but she didn’t let that stop her from reaching her goals and striving to be the best person she could be, she said. “We make choices in everything that we
do. We can choose to be bitter or we can choose to be better, and bitter just never fit me well,” Schield said.
Learning the pivots Contestants devoted at least two to three hours a weekend at rehearsals and additional time at home to prepare for the pageant. Former Ms. Senior Arizona winners and contestants also volunteered their time to help pageant hopefuls learn the ropes. “They attend rehearsals and mentored us,
they showed us how to get the pivot down perfect. It was encouraging,” Schield said. Eventually, close bonds between the contestants and former participants were created throughout the rehearsals and pageant, Anderson said. “We got a chance to laugh with each
Unetha Anderson
compete, we helped and cheered each other on every step of the way, and I loved that about the pageant.”
Cameo Club Former participants of the pageant are
invited to join the Cameo Club. Members of the club volunteer their time to perform and participate in fundraisers for causes such as crisis centers for abused children and Alzheimer’s research. “We still go all over and perform at places
Southwest Valley
like Veterans Affairs hospitals, retirement centers and the state fair. That’s why I was in the pageant, because I wanted to be able to join the Cameo Club,” 2006 Ms. Senior Arizona Queen Peggy Brown said. Brown is a previous president and artistic director for the Cameo Club. Participating in the Cameo Club was also a goal for Anderson. “The Cameo Club’s goal and focus is to help those in crisis, so it’s great that everybody just came from their heart to help out such a fine organization that’s really concerned about people,” she said. “I look forward to working with the former Queens to come, this has opened up doors for me and I have met so many wonderful people, and for that I am grateful.”
Schield also plans to participate in the Cameo Club. She said she also hopes that other women will choose to participate in the Ms. Senior Arizona pageant in the future.
other, encourage each other because none of us were perfect,” she said. “So we didn’t
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Goodyear gave notice April 9 that it will consider lowering the tax on food consumption. State law mandates that a city must
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“There is a life beyond being 60, and it’s darn good. We’re in the last quarter, but it’s the best quarter,” she said.
Goodyear gives notice to reduce tax
provide a public notice at least 60 days before the issue can be determined by the City Council, said Larry Lange, Goodyear’s director of finance. The current tax rate is 2.25 percent. Lange said the council is considering reducing the rate by .25 percent, making it an even 2 percent. This would be the second time the City Council has considered a rate reduction. A .25 percent reduction was approved
and put into effect on Jan. 1. “Our estimate at the time we adopted the reduction from 2.5 percent to 2.25 percent was $500,000 per year but we did not have any good data to base it on,” Lange said.
The tax reduction has been in effect since Jan. 1 and officials have new data on the fiscal impact. “We now have one month’s data and we
have revised the impact down to $250,000 per year,” he said. “That is still a rough estimate but it is the best we have.” Officials expect the impact will be the same, if a second tax reduction is approved, Lange said.
(190 N. Litchfi eld Rd.) Costs just $5 per session, and includes refreshments.
Space is limited.
Register online at
www.avondale.org/playnow (Barcode #4883 and #4884).
For more information call (623) 333-2720 Presented by cities of Goodyear,
Avondale and the town of Buckeye
Joan Schield
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