Miss Georgia Forestry April Hollingsworth, who represents Decatur County, will serve as the mistress of ceremonies for the 2009 “Girls Gone Wild” Decatur County Forestry Pageant.

As Miss Georgia Forestry, Hollingsworth also selects the theme for the State Forestry Pageant. The Decatur County Forestry Pageant will have the honor of previewing this year’s theme—think animal print, feathers and faux fur!

The Decatur County Forestry pageant will be held this Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Whigham School Auditorium on U.S. 84, beginning at 3 p.m.

The reigning queens, April Hollingsworth, Brooke Kelley, Megan Tharp, Shelby Covin, LaTisha Venisee-Cosby, Emily Howell, Cameron Eakin and Hadley Shiver will each crown a new Decatur County Forestry Queen to represent our area. The new queens will receive their entry fees paid to the 70th Miss Georgia Forestry Pageant to represent Decatur County.

The Decatur County Forestry queens will be responsible for helping promote forestry for Decatur County. The pageant is open to girls, newborns to 24. The Baby-Teen Divisions are open to all Georgia counties while the Miss Division, ages 17 to 24, is open to young ladies who reside, work or attend school in Decatur County or a county that borders Decatur County.

Deadline to enter the local Decatur Forestry Pageant is Friday, Feb. 6. Applications may be downloaded from the Web site http://decaturcountyforestrypageant.tripod.com, by contacting the director, Jody Hodges, by e-mail at decaturforestrypageant@gmail.com or by phone at (229) 344-7062.

The Miss Georgia Forestry Pageant is a non-profit organization started in 1940 to offer educational opportunities to young ladies while promoting Georgia’s No. 1 industry—forestry.

The Georgia Forestry Pageant is the oldest scholarship pageant in the state of Georgia, going into its 70th year. The Miss Georgia Forestry Pageants offer over $120,000 annually in cash and college scholarships on the local and state levels. The Miss Georgia Forestry contestants also have the opportunity to advance to the Miss U.S. National Forestry Pageant. April Hollingsworth is also the reigning Miss United States National Forestry Queens.