University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

Page 16 text:

Just after being crowned as ttie pageant ' s winner, Rhonda Maxwell takes her first walk as Miss UNA 1991. (Photo by Mark Casteel) Singing her favorite Reba Mclntyre song, A Sunday Kind of Love, made sophomore Amber Hunter the winner of ttie talent competition. (Photo by Shannon Wells) Stopping to smile at the judges, Rhonda Maxwell models the suit that helped her win the swimsult category. The retum of the Miss UNA pageant Into the Miss Alabama Miss America circuit brought the return of the swimsuit competition to the school ' s pageant (Photo by Shannon Wells) Secorxl runner-up Maureen Welden sings Xry for the talent competition. (Photo by Mark Casteel) Concentrating on hitting the right notes, Rhonda Maxwell plays Nonwegian Concerto, First Move- ment by Grieg during dress rehearsal for the talent competition. (Photo by Shannon Weils)

Page 15 text:

Controlled madness pirits are high as campus groups compete for Step Sing honors By Karen Kimbrell Lver wonder just what all that noise in balcony of Norton Auditorium before p Sing began was all about? f you came as a spectator and stood in mezzanine or in the auditorium ' s lower 3I, you couldn ' t help but have ques- led why bodies clamoured over each er to hang off the balcony ' s edge to flag vn parents, friends and alumni of their anizations down below. And you Jdn ' t escape noticing the continuous ints: P-P-P- with an H-H-H-H- with an . and ' Rooh-Rah-Rooh-Rah-Rooh-Rah- ;; Rooh-Rah-Rooh-Rah-S-A-E . . . And and on they went until each group had say. rhe members clapped and pounded on wooden seats, trying to outdo the others ore they even made it to the stage. 4ad you actually been in the balcony, I would have heard comments such as, i-my-gosh, the Zetas have on costumes; were supposed to be the only ones with tumes! and I bet the Sigma Chis wore just because both groups that won last ir wore red, and Patriotic? Everybody that last year! i ' ou would also have heard the organi- ion presidents and Step Sing chairmen :ouraging their members to sit down, t griping and no matter how much you nt to cheer back, don ' t because you need to save your voices. And had you actually been one of those Step Sing participants, you would have had a variety of emotions built up. Anticipation. Hope. Pride. Exhaustion. You see, most organizations spend weeks, sometimes months, preparing for the two-hour competition. First, they debate theme selection, then song selection and then they must choose either an accom- panist or a person who can make them a tape. They worry about what to wear. T-shirts? Long-sleeved or short? What kind of logo? What color? How about costumes? Have them made or special ordered? What about props? Hats? Color of jeans? Shoes? Socks? Hair up or down, big and fluffy or straight? The members want uniformity so their group will look best on stage. Next, they set up practices. Sometimes they find an old gym or an auditorium. Even a basement will do. Each organization ' s Step Sing chairper- son (usually a cheerleader, Lionette, gym- nast or majorette — whomever they can find) works with his or her group nightly, taking the members move by move through the show. Sometimes they adjust the steps they had planned so even the biggest clod in the group can participate. As the days draw nearer to the night of the main event, practices grow longer and longer, often lasting into the early hours of the morning. Tensions grow stronger. Spies are sent out to catch a glimpse of the competition. Groups try to conceal their moves and costumes from outsiders. Calls are made repeatedly to Student Activities Director Bob Glenn to insure that no two groups use the same music and that no one borrows a show from another university. Originality plays such a big role in the competition, two groups lost points because of it. Although the Phi Mus, dressed in baseball uniforms and carrying bats, put on a flawless show, they had points deducted because they bonxjwed the show almost in its entirety from the ADPis at Samford University. Likewise, the Zetas, though they didn ' t copy the movements, had points deducted for opening their show with The Star Spangled Banner, the song the Samford ADPis opened with in that same baseball show. In spite of having points deducted, the Zetas still placed second in the female divi- sion of the competition. Dressed in Uncle Sam costumes and hats, the Zetas per- formed a patriotic tribute to the American troops in the Gulf. When asked about the points deducted, Zeta Step Sing Chairper- son Kelley Oden said, How many differ- ent ways could we have sung the National Anthem? The winner of the female division was Alpha Delta Pi. Wearing white sailor caps, the sorority sang songs such as Kokomo, London Bridge Is Falling Down, Edel- weiss and Love in Any Language to go with their theme, ' Teach the World to Sing. ADPi Olga Henao said the group prac- ticed two weeks for five hours at a time in preparation for the competition. We put songs that we liked together, then thought of a theme, Henao said. It was a chapter effort. In the co-ed division, the Baptist Campus Ministries was the orJy group to enter. Their show consisted of one song, Face to Faith, led by Darlene Kent. Kent said that their theme was Regina Price ' s idea, then they just worked on the song. For two weeks about 35 or so prac- ticed. It was a lot of fun, Kent said, and we enjoyed everybody working together. Second place in the men ' s division went to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, while first place went to Sigma Chi. With a simulated fire drill as their theme, the Sigma Chis also won the overall Step Sing trophy. Dressed in firemen suits, they danced and sang to I ' m on Fire, We Didn ' t Start the Fire and Great Balls of Fire. Senior Glenn Truelove said the Sigma Chis practiced only four days for the win- ning show. Being in Step Sing meant a great deal to everyone because we all came together and worked together, Scott Morris, former Sigma Chi president, said. ' Winning Step Sing just made the experience that more enjoyable, and I was proud of our teamwork. step Sing II

Page 17 text:

sack to Montgomery r honda Maxwell represented the university at the Miss Alabama pageant— the first Miss UNA in five years to do so By Tara Whittle One cold February evening, hundreds of students filed out of Norton Auditorium with little else on their minds except Could you believe the dress she wore? or Matthew Ashford is so cute in person! or Let ' s get out of here; I ' m starving! For these people, the significance of the Miss UNA pageant was over. For Rhonda Maxwell, however, it was only the begiiming. As Miss UNA 1991, Maxwell, a radio television film and English major from Somerville, carried out many of the same duties as her predecessors. I ' m asked to appear at various func- tions on campus, Maxwell said. For example, I performed at Honors Night and I spoke to and performed before several hundred high school students at Career Day. However, while Maxwell was having many of the same experiences as former pageant winners, she was the first Miss UNA in five years to go on to compete in the Miss Alabama pageant. Competing in the Miss Alabama pageant was one of the most significant moments of my reign as Miss UNA, Max- well said. It was a wonderful opportunity, as well as a big responsibility, to represent UNA at the state level. Because the state pageant was held in June, Maxwell only had three months to prepare for the competition. I spent a large amount of time on the talent segment because I decided to change from playing the piano to singing. In addition to preparing for the talent portion of the pageant. Maxwell spent a lot of time keeping up with current events and issues for the pageant interview and select- ing items for a new wardrobe for the com- petition. Maxwell is the first to admit that she could not have done everything by herself. It meant a lot to me to have so much support from the university. A lot of organi- zations, faculty members and students came together to support me, Maxwell said. All those preparations and perfor- mances did more for Maxwell than make her better at public speaking or more adept at analyzing world events. I think the way I feel toward the univer- sity has changed. When you serve the university in a certain capacity, your feel- ings for it are bound to intensify, Maxwell explained I think I feel more pride in UNA than ever before. Following the pageant the winners line up with Days of Our Lives star Matthew Ashford. The winners were Amber Hunter, first ninner-up; Malaea Nelms, Miss UNA 1990; Ashford; Rhonda Maxwell, Miss UNA 1991; Maureen Welden, second runner-up; and Sandy Kay Taylor, third runner-up. (Photo by Herb Stolces)