HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Aubrey John, center, was crowned Miss Pahrump 2008 Saturday night. She is flanked by, at left, first runner-up Chelsea Beckett and second runner-up Shelby Hughes. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Beckett was Miss Pahrump 2007 and then crowned runner-up this year. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT The Miss Pahrump contestants line up as the high school pageant gets under way Saturday evening. Advertisement

Aubrey John, 16, an incoming junior at Pahrump Valley High School, was chosen Miss Pahrump 2008 during pageant festivities at the high school auditorium Saturday night.

"I worked really hard, I was in the pageant last year too," she said after taking the victory walk to the music of Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" and cheers from admirers.

John's platform is the prevention of teen substance abuse.

She participates in track, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, softball and dance. She belongs to the young women's club, student council and drill team.

John won the award in the talent competition. She displayed her skill after nine years of piano lessons, performing a sonata composed by the group Fresh Air, shedding a cloak and knocking off the rose on the piano at one point in a bit of dramatics.

John also received the award for best sportswear, which allows contestants to show their creativity in choosing an outfit for a sports event, concert or barbecue as well as creativity in modeling.

She walked on stage in a white dress with black trim and a black sash down the back to win the award for best formal wear.

Chelsea Beckett, 17, an incoming senior at Pahrump Valley High School, was named first attendant. Beckett was chosen Miss Congeniality by the other contestants. She won the award for best interview and best essay, on the dangers of drinking and driving.

Beckett will be senior class president on the student council at Pahrump Valley High School this fall.

Shelby Hughes, 15, was named second attendant.

Chaelene Marie Jones was chosen most photogenic of the dozen contestants.

The 2007 Miss Pahrump, Jill Wulfenstein, entertained the audience with songs like "I'm Walking on Sunshine," and The Supreme's hit, "Can't Hurry Love" in between various parts of the three-hour pageant.

During her term, Wulfenstein put her platform of encouraging literacy to good work, speaking to children in elementary schools and at the library. Scenes of her term were displayed in a video, joined by first attendant Devin Arceo and second attendant Tiffany Leavitt attending the Governor's Ball at Carson City and riding in the Pahrump Fall Festival parade.

The audience took a break at the end of the entertainment, while auditors Debbie Martinez and Kelli Buffy tallied the results of the judging. Contestants were judged on the sportswear, talent and formal wear competition Saturday night; judging on the interview, photogenic and essay competitions was held earlier.

The pageant began in 1976 as a promotional idea to sell tickets to the Harvest Festival rodeo. The girl who sold the most tickets became the Harvest Festival Queen. In 2002, the pageant began offering scholarships.

It has evolved into a focus over the well-rounded young woman with six areas of competition.

The master of ceremonies told the packed audience: "Participation in the Miss Pahrump Pageant empowers young women to achieve their personal and professional goals while providing a forum in which to use their talents and intelligence to achieve a platform dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others."

"The Miss Pahrump Pageant's purpose is to provide personal opportunities for young women and to promote their voice in culture, politics and community.

"The pageant board is not trying to find the best girl in Pahrump but rather to help each girl be the best she can be."

Miss Pahrump 2008 will receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Don and Tamara Trudeau. All contestants received complimentary gift cards from a few beauty salons.

John said her ambition is to become an architect.

Her mother is attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she is working on her nursing degree.

John likes playing the piano, shopping with friends, cooking, fishing, boating and water sports and said she entered the pageant to be a role model for other girls like her in Pahrump.

When it came to her philosophy on life, John quoted from Mahatma Gandhi who said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."