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Killeen's curves were the center of attention at a beauty pageant Saturday. A first of its kind in Killeen, the Bell County Plus America Pageant was Saturday night at the Plaza Hotel. "I feel there's a curvy movement that I'm trying to bring out here to Central Texas," said pageant director, Jessica Tolbert, 24 and a senior at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. "We really just want to promote the beauty in women... What other way to do it other than healthy competition solely based on personality outside of being a plus-sized woman." Four Central Texas women participated in the pageant: Alicia Fleming of Harker Heights; Mary Agge of Waco; Valerie Agge of Hutto and Zhacinia "Zha Zha" Maldonadobarreiro of Copperas Cove. Fleming, an informal dispute resolution reviewer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, was a double winner as she won awards for people's choice and the Ms. division award, which was for women 30 and older. Maldonadobarreiro, an assistant manager at World Finance loan and tax service, won the Miss division, which is for women 18 to 29 years of age. "It's built up my self-awareness," Fleming said about the pageant. "Sometimes you have low self-esteem and it builds it up."
Fleming and Maldonadobarreiro will advance to the Texas Plus America Pageant in Longview on March 15. Tolbert said the theme of the pageant was "I love my shape." "It enlightens people that there's more than one size and shape," Maldonadobarreiro said. "It's the best experience I've ever had in my life." The requirement for the contest was the women must be at least a size 14 wide. Assistant Director of Texas Plus America Ensie Jones said the local and state pageants are important because they offers plus-sized women an avenue to express themselves that wasn't available 20 years ago. Miss Plus America Texas has won the national competition four years in a row and is currently held by Sarah Hayes of Arlington, who was also a judge in Saturday's pageant. /kdhnews.com
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