Valérie Demers is a grade 12 student at École Secondaire Catholique Thériault and on May 10th she heads to Sudbury to compete in the Miss North Ontario Regional Canada Pageant. It is a beauty pageant, but beauty stands for many different things at this event.

” I saw the ad for this on Facebook and usually pageants are related to beauty and all those things. I read up on it and what really caught my eye was how it’s based on leadership, self development, and they give you life skills, like interview skills and public speaking. So, that really caught my eye, I signed up, went through the interview procedure and that’s how it all happened.” – Delegate Valérie Demers.

Demers’ reason for entering this pageant goes much further than beauty.

” This pageant is mainly focused on community engagement, so I want to do that, encourage young women to do just that and engage themselves with the community.” -Said Demers.

Demers has been doing a lot of community service, not just for the pageant, but to make a difference in Timmins. On May 4th she is hosting a fundraiser for Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer, with all of those proceeds donated to the foundation.

When it comes to being Miss North Ontario, there’s a lot of commitment that goes into it. Demers went on to add that, you need to buy a lot of clothes, dresses, gowns, and more. It’s definitely not an easy thing to do, but she’s up for the challenge. Winning this pageant would mean a lot to her; her hard work and dedication towards the community would pay off, and it’s a huge accomplishment.

” If I was to win this, or who ever wins this, would become an ambassador for Northern Ontario. So I’d be attending local events as Miss North Ontario, and I’d potentially be able to attend other pageants like, Miss Teenage Canada, Miss World Canada, and Miss Universe Canada.”

Demers has accumulated a lot of volunteer hours while in high school and they keep adding up, not because it’s required, but because she wants to make a difference. She would love to take home as many awards as she can, but the one that would really mean a lot to her is the people’s choice award.  You can VOTE for Valérie Demers online now.

This is not the first time a Timmins Teen goes to this pageant, but it is her first time, and it has also been quite sometime since someone from Timmins brought the crown home.

Filed under: Local News