Honoring Missouri's senior queens

Virginia Libbert points at a friend in the crowd after being crowned queen during the District 7 Ms. Missouri nursing Home Pageant at Capital West Christian Church event center in Jefferson City on Thursday, July 27, 2017. Libbert, who represented Villa Marie nursing home, will go to Branson in August to represent the district in the statewide pageant.
Virginia Libbert points at a friend in the crowd after being crowned queen during the District 7 Ms. Missouri nursing Home Pageant at Capital West Christian Church event center in Jefferson City on Thursday, July 27, 2017. Libbert, who represented Villa Marie nursing home, will go to Branson in August to represent the district in the statewide pageant.

Comedy and heartfelt stories ruled Thursday afternoon as 12 senior women shared their experiences while competing to be the 2017 Nursing Home Pageant Queen.

For more than 10 years, the Missouri Health Care Association has hosted the pageant in efforts to uplift Missouri's seniors as they age.

Senior women living in Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Gasconade, Howard, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage, Phelps and Pulaski counties were eligible to enter.

Pageant coordinator Renee Ridling told the News Tribune with all of the cuts to Medicaid and senior services, these women deserve to be highlighted to illustrate their importance to the community and the work senior living centers do.

"These ladies represent our history, and they represent what's best about the past," Ridling said. "I really wish we had representatives of the Legislature here to see how important what we do as an industry is for these ladies and how important they are to our society."

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STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Todd Shannon with Pruden Restoration looks into a ceiling at the United Methodist Church in Springdale.

Throughout the pageant, contestants were asked a series of questions about their experiences - sometimes based on the information they shared and other times just to get a rise out of them.

For example, many of the women were asked what was the most beautiful place they had seen, and at other times, they were asked if they were a Cubs or Cardinals fan. The answer was unanimously Cardinals.

Harry Horonzy with Miller County Health and Rehabilitation served as master of ceremonies.

As the contestants were called to the stage, they were all escorted by four gentleman. Pat Behen with Missouri Nursing Home Insurance Trust was one of them.

"It's an opportunity for them to get out and tell their stories and for the public to see that they are still very vibrant people," Behen said. "Just because they're in a nursing home doesn't mean they're not still part of society; they're still people."

After each contestant had a chance to share her story, the judges narrowed the pool from 12 to five women.

From the smaller pool, Virginia Libbert, resident at Villa Marie, was crowned the District 7 Queen. She will move on to the state pageant in August in Branson. The first runner-up was Marilyn Landolt, resident at Frene Valley of Hermann.

"This was a Cinderella moment for all of the residents, giving them an opportunity to share their stories and be seen in the community," said Jennifer Key, activity director and dementia practitioner at Villa Marie. "I'm proud of my resident; she is always perky and encouraging other residents."

Employees from several other senior living centers and the contestants' family members were present at the pageant to support the women.

Libbert was shocked when they announced her as the winner.

"I can't believe that I have been crowned the queen," Libbert said. "I encourage future contestants to just get up there and give them all you got - tell the truth, that's all I did."

Three of Libbert's children were present and said they were proud of their mom.

"This will certainly give her years of life," her eldest son, Kenny Libbert, said.

Libbert's daughter, Mary Kay Hoelscher, added: "She'll talk about this for years."