The Daisy joins Pageant traditions

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

Longtime Copperas Cove business, The Daisy, has joined as one of the new sponsors of the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant this year. 
On Monday, some of the royalty stopped by The Daisy, located at 1028 Hawk Trail, to visit with shop owner Rebecca Stirnkorb. For this year’s pageant, Stirnkorb said the shop is providing all the bouquets and boutonnieres for category winners. 
When approached by former Senior Ms. and Ambassador Edith Natividad about sponsoring the floral arrangements for the pageant, it was an easy “yes” from Stirnkorb, whose family has deep roots in Copperas Cove. 
Her parents purchased The Daisy 39 years ago and the shop is a Copperas Cove mainstay for floral customers. In fact, Stirnkorb remembers the days of the “Miss Copperas Cove” pageant which was held in each grade level of Copperas Cove. 
“Each grade would crown a winner, then junior high girls could be junior miss, and a high school girl would become Miss Copperas Cove,” Stinkorb told the royalty. “One year, I helped tabulate the votes for the winners.” She also shared with them about the countries around the world which ship flowers and other greenery regularly to The Daisy.
For this year’s pageant, presented by Manning Homes and also sponsored by VFW Post #8677, the theme is Big Dreams Under the Big Top.
The pageant will crown new titleholders on March 24 at the Copperas Cove Civic Center.  The pageant is open to boys ages 0-8 and girls and women of all ages with registration going on until March 1 at http://www.copperascovetx.gov/parks/five_hills_pageant/.  
Applications may also be picked up at the Copperas Cove Civic Center or access applications via the Five Hills Pageant Facebook page.  
Contestants as well as winners will receive a myriad of benefits, simply for participating. Every contestant will receive at least $200 in prizes simply for entering, to include tickets to the Austin Zoo, certificates to local restaurants and salons, gymnastic, dance and taekwondo lessons and more. Bill French Jewelers is again providing custom crowns that spell out Copperas Cove in rhinestones. This year, SuperCuts will be providing salon services for all pageant contestants ages nine and older, with Lips For Life by Becci hosting a lip color matching workshop for contestants nine and up.
A coronation ball will follow the evening pageant, with catering by Bits n Bites Cake Shop, Copperas Cove HEB Plus!, and Starbucks. 
The 2017 pageant awarded more than $74,000 in scholarships and prizes to contestants and winners. W. B. Development returns as the sponsor of the educational savings bonds for the winners of the younger royalty in the Baby Miss through the Pre-Teen categories while Extraco Banks is providing the scholarships for the Young Miss and the Teen Miss winners.  
Winners will make a myriad of appearances representing the City including riding on the parade float in more than a dozen parades throughout the upcoming year, with the older royalty having the opportunity to champion the causes which they promote during the interview portion of the pageant.