Five very qualified individuals are charged with the enviable task of choosing the new Thomasville Rose Queen at the Rose Queen Pageant on Saturday night. She will represent the Rose City as ambassador and will preside over the 2020 Rose Festival next April.

Meredith Young Pope, Atlanta; Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, USA, (Med. Ret.), Tallahassee; Emma Fennelly, Atlanta; Darrell Williams, Douglas and Jennifer Powell, Tallahassee make up the 2019 Panel of Judges.

The panel will be using the judging procedure based on that used in the Miss Georgia and Miss America Pageant competitions.

They will consider five areas of competition in selecting that one young woman who they feel will best represent the area. The preliminary areas of competition and the maximum point values are:

Essay — 15 points; private interview — 30 points; on-stage fitness and choreography — 25 points; and on-stage evening gown and poise — 30 Points

Each judge will score each contestant individually immediately following the contestant’s performance so that there is no comparative judging. A judge may give multiple contestants an identical score if they feel they are deserving of the same scores. Immediately after each competition is completed, an auditing team will enter all of the judges’ scores on the master tally sheet, discarding one high score and one low score for each contestant to ensure that the integrity of the scoring is maintained.

During the duration of the pageant, there is no opportunity for discussion about the competition between judges so that it is truly an individual scoring process.

In considering the essay competition, the judges are asked to consider how well the contestant expresses her love of her hometown and how the community, the attractions, the history and heritage has influenced her life. The panel will assess her ability to identify and share what is important to her.

For the interview portion of competition, each contestant will spend 10 minutes with the entire panel of judges, during which she will talk about points raised in her essay and may be asked questions about multiple topics. The judges recognize, however, that these young women are rising high school juniors and seniors and will use this time as an opportunity to “get to know” each contestant. They will assign points based on an overall first impression, her communication skills, her confidence and commanding presence, her personality and appearance and finally, her validated opinions and responses.

During the fitness and choreography competition, the judges will consider the contestant’s physical fitness, how well her performance distinguishes her personality and skill, her creative and technical skills, her on-stage personality, charisma and expression and if she is having fun.

The evening gown and poise competition is the most beautiful of all pageant segments. The judging takes into consideration an overall first impression, coupled with the contestant’s confidence, stage presence, walk, posture and grace, sense of style and appropriateness of evening wear, beauty and charm. The judges consider the young women in the dress rather than the dress on the young woman.

After all preliminary competitions are completed, the auditors will total scores for each contestant from all judges. The contestants with the five highest cumulative scores will be announced in no particular order as the top five finalists.

The top five will be judged in a group-setting on stage with a host.

Each of the top five will be asked a question about Thomasville-Thomas County based on seven questions that all contestants were provided prior to the competition.

After all have answered the “Thomasville Question,” each judge will ask one of the top five a question from her private interview.

As the last contestant in the top five finishes her answer to her second question, each judge will cast the final ballot for the choice of the final placement of each of the top five. In making the decision, the judges will consider how each contestant interacted with the other top five contestants, the host and the audience; if will she be a role model and who best can do the job; if she has the energy, personality, charisma, confidence and commanding presence.

After all points awarded on the final ballot by each judge are tabulated, we will all find out who will become the 2020 Thomasville Rose Queen.