In 1947, the Miss Buford pageant began as a way for seniors at Buford High School to raise money for class trips to New York City and Washington, D.C.
Almost 80 years later, the pageant is still molding girls into confident, bold young women.
Patricia Roebuck Nash, who was crowned Miss Buford in 1960, recalled her older cousin encouraging her to take part in the pageant in order to pay her way into a trip to New York with her classmates.
“I told her I didn’t have a dress, but she said her dad was buying her a new one and that I could wear her old one. There were about 80 girls participating in the pageant, and I remember thinking that I had no idea what I was doing in a beauty competition,” Nash laughed. “Another cousin let me borrow her hoop slip, and my home economics teacher helped me buy some evening gloves from Macy’s. I was like Cinderella! I had no idea what I was doing, but it was such a good experience.”
Much to her surprise, and convinced the judges had the winner’s name misprinted, Nash was crowned Miss Buford and went on to compete in Miss Gwinnett County in 1961, where she placed in the top 10. Later, she declined an offer to compete at the Miss Georgia Pageant.
In high school, Nash was a majorette in the band, participated in debate and drama, and was even class valedictorian in 1962. After college, she came back to Buford, where she taught from 1970 to 1999 in the language arts department and simultaneously headed up the drama and theater department, producing plays like “The Hobbit” and “Oklahoma.”
Nash continues to be a fixture in the Miss Buford circle, attending reunions and even serving as a judge for the pageant in recent years.
“Every time we have a reunion, just about everyone shows up. They travel from out of state because it’s so important to us, coming from a small school. It’s very special,” Nash said. “And, as a judge, I spent the entire day up there with other judges. Those interviews were pretty intense, and I was so impressed. I’m sure I didn’t sound that good when I was 15 years old. Those girls do a good job.”
The Miss Buford Pageant has evolved over the years since Nash was part of the program, pivoting its focus from outer beauty to a heavier focus on inner beauty.
This year’s pageant scored each contestant in the areas of formal wear, casual wear and interviews.
Autumn Cole, the current pageant director, described the scoring process for each contestant.
“The interview is 50% of their score. Then, formal wear is 30%, and casual wear is 20%,” Cole said. “We really place the emphasis on the interview to go beyond just outer surface beauty.”
Each contestant writes a short autobiography when registering for the pageant, and judges view these roughly 30 minutes before interviewing each participant.
“Neither the judges or the contestants see the (interview) questions beforehand,” Cole said. “The judges get the bio, and then base their questions on that information before interviewing the girls individually. Additionally, our judges are different this year. Typically, there are three judges who judge everything. But, this year, we had two judges doing interviews that had no pageant affiliation, and then we had three different judges on Saturday that judged the actual pageant.”
In the past, the pageant has crowned a winner for each grade level at the high school, with the overall winner being a senior. However, this year there was an overall winner, regardless of grade level, and then individual grade-level winners as well. The overall winner is also awarded a scholarship.
“We increased the scholarship this year from $500 to $1,000, and the school presents it to the winner at graduation,” Cole said.
At the 78th annual Miss Buford Pageant, which was held Oct. 26, Joscelyn Mandall, a junior, was crowned Miss Buford 2025. Mandall will join Nash in a prestigious group of women who continue to support one another for decades beyond high school.
Other winners included Abi Richardson, who was crowned Miss Buford Sweetheart, an award given to the contestant raising the most money via sponsorships. Miss Senior Buford was awarded to Izzy Skinner, Miss Sophomore Buford was Ansleigh Rose and Miss Freshman Buford was awarded to Phoebe Harper.
Abigail Yurtkuran, who was crowned Miss Junior Buford and was also Miss Sophomore Buford in 2023, is grateful for the opportunity to play such an important role in the community.
“Having this title helped me grow as a person because I was out in the community, meeting people and being involved in different events. One event I truly enjoyed was being part of the Academy Valentine’s Day Dance. We got to meet so many young girls and boys and, hopefully, brought a little bit of joy and fun to them that night by hanging out and dancing together,” Yurtkuran said. “Everything we do is fun and has enabled us to grow in many ways. I would encourage any young person to give the BHS pageant a try because, you never know, they could become the next queen and lots of fun opportunities could await them.”
Nash echoed Yurtkuran’s sentiment, adding being part of Miss Buford was a wonderful experience that has had a lasting impact on her life, even 60 years later.
“It helps girls build their confidence and poise and learn how to be interviewed and speak publicly,” Nash said. “I look forward to attending our 80th reunion.”
Cole also encouraged young girls to consider participating in the pageant.
“Miss Buford is the pageant for everybody. Whether you have some experience or you have none, it’s for everybody,” she said. “Anybody can put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, but your beauty is really within, and it has nothing to do with what you’re wearing. It’s really what’s in your soul, and that’s what we want to exude and want people to see.”
FEATURED PHOTO: Joscelyn Mandall, a junior at Buford High School, was crowned Miss Buford 2025 at the 78th annual Miss Buford pageant held Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
