Meet the princess
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 12, 2014 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Casie Belom, 16, left, and Charity Brown, 16, right, congratulate the 2014 Wayne County Fire Princess Haley Cannon, 15, after she was crowned on Saturday night.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Miss Cannon performs a Smokey Bear themed skit in which she performed a song with lyrics about fire safety.
After receiving the Miss Congeniality Award at Saturday night's 40th annual Wayne County Fire Princess Pageant, Haley Cannon was content.
"I got Miss Congeniality and I said, 'I am set. I am ecstatic for whoever wins,'" she said. "It didn't matter to me. I was just here having a blast."
But then she heard her name, and the next thing she knew, she was the 2014 Wayne County Fire Princess.
"I was not expecting that at all," she said, minutes after receiving the crown. "I am just very happy and thankful to God above all. I just felt very honored to be the 40th anniversary's Fire Princess."
Miss Cannon, 15, is the daughter of Allen and Sherri Cannon. She is a sophomore at Eastern Wayne High School. She represented New Hope Fire Department.
The first runner-up was Lyndsey Parnell, Saulston Fire Department; second runner-up was Patricia Faulk, Dudley Fire Department; third runner-up was Amelia Marriner, Indian Springs Fire Department; and fourth runner-up was Chesney Best, Pikeville-Pleasant Grove Fire Department.
The contestants were judged on costume, 20 percent; talent, 50 percent; on-stage question, 10 percent; and evening gown 20 percent.
The costume and talent were judged together as each girl presented a brief skit based on fire safety and fire prevention.
The program included a brief memorial service for firefighters who have died since the last pageant.
Sarah Casey, the 2013 Fire Princess, performed during the pageant and repeated her winning "Cooking With Julia Child" skit.
Miss Cannon performed her skit dressed as a bear and performed "Get Your Smokey On."
She and her grandmother came up with the idea for the skit.
"We had to rework the song and everything," she said. "It was really tough, but we just had fun with it and tried to put as much information in there as we could."
Miss Cannon she was very nervous, but "just had fun" with the event.
"I just did all that I could do," she said.
Miss Cannon said she is looking forward to continuing to spread the message of the importance of fire prevention and is honored to represent her fire department, New Hope, and the rest of the firefighters who work so hard to keep their community safe.
Miss Cannon said her family as well as most of the members of the fire department were in the audience to cheer her on Saturday.
"It was just very good to see how many people showed up in support," she said. "It was very nice."
She said she is ready for her first duty -- whatever her fire department tells her to do.
Miss Casey, who represented the Elroy Fire Department said her year-long reign had gone by much faster than she thought it would.
"I can't believe tonight it was actually a year ago that I was here," she said. "I think the most exciting was probably performing at the (Wayne County) Firemen's Association. I did my skit there and got to do it in front of all of the firemen to show my appreciation to them.
"Also my fire department put a billboard on U.S. 70. That was my favorite thing. I felt like a celebrity. It was a complete shock. I had no idea about it. Every time I drove home, I got to see it. I loved that."
While it was sad to give up the crown, Miss Casey said she is still glad to hand it to the next fire princess to continue the tradition.