As 2017 pageant gets underway, Miss NH reflects on her reign

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BY KIMBERLEY HAAS
UNION LEADER CORRESPONDENT | April 27. 2017 8:23PM

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Miss New Hampshire Caroline Carter will crown her successor Saturday night. (KIMBERLEY HAAS/Union Leader Correspondent)

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DERRY — As Miss New Hampshire Caroline Carter prepares to pass her title on, she says her year of service has helped her find her future career path.

The Dover native took a gap year between high school and college to promote her platform, “Stop Diabetes.” 

Carter, 19, has Type 1 diabetes and she worked throughout the country to spread awareness and break stereotypes surrounding the disease.

Along the way, Carter discovered she wants to become a chiropractor and she is taking $30,000 in scholarship money with her when she starts her kinesiology studies at the University of New Hampshire.

Carter will crown Miss New Hampshire 2017 Saturday night. 

One of 28 local pageant title holders will be selected by a panel of judges after three nights of competition and a personal interview. 

Carter said the moment will be bittersweet. 

Miss Hooksett Grace Orfao rehearses on Thursday for this weekend’s Miss New Hampshire pageant in Derry. (DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER)

“I’m putting together my farewell speech right now. I’m pulling pictures out of my year, and it’s weird looking back and seeing some of the appearances I have done because there were some that were very, very meaningful to me. You just kind of go back in your mind a little bit and you’re hit with nostalgia,” Carter said during a final dress rehearsal before preliminary competition began Thursday.

Miss Exeter, Samantha Mackes, a senior at Simmons College, plans to pursue her master’s degree in elementary and special education. She has earned $15,000 through the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program and is already paying off some of her school bills using the money. 

Mackes has a platform that focuses on mentoring youth.

“Mentoring is so important because you need to have someone to look up to. When I was growing up, I really didn’t have a mentor, and so when I became a mentor, I was really able to see the impact that it has on kids. Their grades go up, their attendance rates go up, and just their overall sense of being and having this great childhood, it just improves so much,” Mackes said.

This is the first year competing for Miss Manchester, Kaitlin Soucy, a senior at West High School.

“I always grew up watching all the girls and coming to the pageants, and to be able to be here and compete and help pay for my college next year is one of the most rewarding things. It still really hasn’t hit me yet that I am going to be competing,” Soucy said.

Miss Exeter Samantha Mackes tap dances while rehearsing on Thursday for this weekend's Miss New Hampshire pageant in Derry. (DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER)

She will be studying at Southern New Hampshire University in the fall.

Soucy’s platform is focused on volunteerism. She has been volunteering since she was 13, even organizing service week and canned food drives at her high school.

Volunteers keep the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Competition going. Some crew members have been with the organization for decades.

Co-producer Chris Piccolo has been involved for 22 years.

“It’s a great cause for the girls, but the reason I really do it is the team we have here. We have probably 15 to 20 volunteers backstage and we are like a family,” Piccolo said. 

This year’s show has a world theme with numbers inspired by places all over the globe, Piccolo said.

Piccolo said people who want to help out next year can go to www.missnh.com for contact information.

Details about purchasing tickets for the competition and watching its livestream can be found on the website. 

Miss New Hampshire is being held at the Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy.

Saturday’s final competition starts at 6 p.m. 

The winner will compete at Miss America 2018 in Atlantic City on Sept. 10. The Miss America Organization was founded in 1921, and is the largest contributor of scholarships for women in the world.

http://www.newhampshire.com/NH-People/As-2017-pageant-gets-underway-Miss-NH-reflects-on-her-reign-04292017