William M. Raines High School recently held their 46th annual Royal Pageant. The theme of this year’s pageant was "Safari Soiree." The auditorium was decorated with the illusion of hunting or exploring in eastern Africa. Adding to the events scene was a grand runway that allowed the contestants to be displayed close to the audience.
Four very talented and gifted young ladies pursued the title of Miss Raines 2011-2012: Brittany Brooks, Ayanna Thomas, Courtney Banks and Delisha Ransom. The title of Mr. Raines 2011-2012 was sought by two equally talented young men: Kristopher Crowden & DevRon Lester.
One of the highlights of the night was the touching video presentation put together by pageant organizers honoring one of the schools most dedicated former faculty members, Mr. Franklin L. Smith. For nearly 20 years Mr. Smith served Raines High School as an English instructor, sponsor of the Ivey League and director of student activities. Mr. Smith was named the 1994 Duval County Teacher of the Year. His most memorable achievement at Raines was serving as the director of the Royal Court Pageant for many years. Currently, Ms. Tangella S. Ennis is the pageant director and has been for the past six years.
The final scores for the pageant were made up of the student body vote, contestant interviews and pageant scores. After scores were tabulated, Mr. DevRon Lester and Ms. Ayanna Thomas were crowned the King and Queen.
DevRon and Ayanna are very active in their education. Both students recently lead and organized a student body demonstration regarding the vote to hire an Educational Management Organization to run Raines High. They led over 50 students as they marched from Jacksonville Treaty Oak Park to Duval County Public Schools’ headquarters where they were granted a meeting with Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals.
Other title holders included: Mr. Raines 1st Runner up - Kristofer Crowden-Richardson, Miss Raines 1st Runner up - Delisha Ransom, Miss Raines 2nd Runner up - Courtney Banks, Miss Raines 3rd Runner up - Brittney Brooks.
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