HANCEVILLE — Once again there are moms and grandmothers getting ready to don evening gowns, pearls and diamonds for a walk across the stage at the Bettye Leeth Haynes Theatre in Hanceville.

These lovely ladies will vie for the title of Ms. Senior Cullman County. The winner will go on to compete for the state crown.

One of this year’s contestants is Annett Bates of the New Home community. Bates is interested in lots of things, like being a homemaker, church activities, singing and being with her friends.

Family is very important in her life. Her family is her support system, since she has lost a great deal of her eyesight.

She was one of last year’s contestants, and will share events from her life as her talent.

Juanita McQueen of Trimble will also take the stage on Saturday, Jan. 12, in the Wallace State Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre from 2 to 4 p.m.

Juanita loves singing, traveling, dancing and reading. She was married for 56 years, has ten children, 12 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren. She recently married again and says that her husband is a marvelous person who is kind and understanding.

This is her first pageant, and she hopes to inspire young people to realize that older people are living in the age of elegance, which is a wonderful experience.

Juanita will be singing in the talent segment of the program.

Kathy Sinyard of Holly Pond loved working in the garden, doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles and watching game shows. She also enjoys traveling. She has four children, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

This is also her first pageant. Two ladies in the page ant last year talked to her about how much fun they had, so Kathy decided to join in this year.

Kathy will sing as her talent. She advises people to enjoy what God has given us, and to pray.

Bremen’s Dianne White is competing for the third time. She has placed each time, and in 2012 she was also voted Ms. Congeniality. She will sing a mixture of Gospel and country music during the talent segment.

Dianne loves her family, enjoys reading, singing at churches, senior centers and nursing homes. She also enjoys spreading the word about her favorite charity, The Lovelady Center, which helps women with addictions.

She and her husband Jim have five children between them in a blended family. They lost one son to the Lord. The couple has nine wonderful grandchildren.

Dianne tries her best to spread happiness and smiles wherever she goes. She views life as an adventure, has learned lessons from yesterday, and looks forward to what she will learn tomorrow.

She counts her blessings daily, leaning on the Lord for strength to endure life’s trials. She is the owner of a tanning salon, and a computer operator for a Birmingham medical facility and is a bank loan officer.

She is a former Powder Puff racer, and loves to travel.

For Faye Harris of Hanceville, this is a first pageant. She entered because she has always enjoyed watching pageants, and it looked like fun. She also saw it as a way to meet new people.

She will give a speech as her talent for the show.

Faye’s philosophy of life is to be kind to others and help those less fortunate. She loves to quilt and knit. She spends time birdwatching and putting up houses and feeders for the purple martin families that visit her backyard in the spring.

She has spent a lot of time traveling since her five children grew up. Some of her destinations include Pennsylvania, Key West, Florida, Cozumel, Mexico, and Niagara Falls.

She is the proud grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of eight.

Jannette Morrow of Holly Pond is an active member of New Home Baptist Church and the Baileyton Senior Citizens group. She has served as an officer in various positions at church and volunteers to drive individuals to the senior gatherings, doctor’s appointments, and to provide care and assistance for family members on a weekly basis.

In her spare time, Jannette loves quilting, working in her yard and garden, and feeding the wildlife nearby.

She has taken her basic EMT training, and is CPR certified, including training as a disaster relief technician. Before retiring, Jeannette worked at GTE, Chrysler and Accutec as a soldering electronics specialist for over 30 years. She also drove a school bus for five years and says that her most rewarding job was working in a local nursing home as activities director.

Jannette has four children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and a new husband.

She entered the Ms. Senior Cullman pageant last year and found it to be very exciting. She thinks it will be twice as much fun this year.

 Plan to attend this very exciting event! Tickets are $5 and are on sale at the door. Entertainment provided by the contestants; break entertainment will be provided by Wayne Abbot and a former pageant winner. Proceeds will go to ensure future pageants.