Pageant novice wins the crown

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Written by The Boyertown Area Times - Diane Van Dyke

Friday, 08 September 2006

While Erin Joy Good of Boyertown sets many goals for herself, competing in a pageant wasn't exactly at the top of her list. It wasn't even in the top half of her ambitions.
"I'm still in shock," said the recently crowned Miss Pennsylvania Teen 2006. "I can't believe it."
Good, 17, not only won the crown but a host of other awards at the annual pageant in Harrisburg. Competing against almost 100 contestants from across the state, she also won the Miss Personality, Outstanding Participation, Best Resume and Best Thank-You contests as well as first runner-up as spokesmodel and a scholarship as the most promising model.
Not bad, considering it was her first pageant.
When Good received the application to register in the mail, she was skeptical about entering.
"I didn't want to be in a beauty pageant where I had to model a swimsuit or anything like that," she said.
After confirming swimwear modeling was not a requirement and learning about the scholarship opportunities, she applied.
"Mom and I looked at it as a fun experience," she said, admitting that it was her first appearance in front of such a large audience. "The highlight of the event was meeting people from all over the state and making friends."
The judges evaluate the contestants based on a host of criteria, including grade-point average, community involvement, formalwear appearance, interviews and personal introductions.
In addition to competing for the title, the young women select different categories in which to compete for trophies and prizes.
Winning in the area of best resume was an ironic twist of fate, Good said, since she completed it at midnight the night before the competition.
Her resume speaks volumes about her personality.
Good graduated a year early from Buxmont Christian Educational Institute, an independent home-school program. She was the valedictorian of her class with a 4.0 grade-point average. She is listed with Who's Who Among American's High School Students and The National Society of High School Scholars.
Her eclectic list of favorite activities includes freestyle skiing, 18-century reenacting and dirt-bike riding. Good shares these activities with her parents, Brian and Kim Good, and siblings Megan, 22; Drew, 18; Jordan, 9; and Robert, 6.
"I've skied since I was two," said Good, who used this passion as the topic of one of the speeches during the pageant. "We ski all over-Canada and Europe and locally at Spring Mount and Bear."
Not surprisingly, she works at Buckman Ski Shop at the Montgomeryville Mall, where she "got her foot in the door" of skiwear design.
"I've learned about buying from a skiwear buyer and attended clinics with ski companies to learn about fabrics," she said.
Good plans to pursue a career in skiwear design, and after serving her year as Miss Pennsylvania Teen, she plans to attend either the Art Institute of Philadelphia or the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in California.
In addition to selling retail at Buckman's, Good also works at American Eagle Outfitters at the Coventry Mall. She said these jobs hone her real-life, people skills and help her develop confidence and responsibility.
The anchor and support system in her life, she said, is her family. Her mother, she said, has influenced her life the most.
"She is the friendliest person and will do anything for anyone," Good said about her mother. "One of my goals is to always try to make a difference in one person's life-I learned that from her."
Her parents share their love of history with the family, who are all re-enactors with the German Regiment Inc. Their visits to Williamsburg, Va., and the Pottsgrove Manor sparked their involvement with the 18th-century re-enacting group.
"I remember seeing mom and dad going out all dressed up in these costumes when we were little," Good said. "We wanted to get dressed up too."
And, they did. Together, they camped in tents, cooked over fires and participated in Revolutionary War re-enactments.
From hitting the slopes to re-enacting to riding dirt bikes, the Good family enjoys their moments together, which is why, when Drew got a dirt bike, they all got dirt bikes and joined the Tower City Trail Riders Inc.
"Tower City is located at a former coal mining site," Good said, explaining that they camp and then ride the trails together. "It is fun the whole family enjoys."
These varied interests and activities help to define this cheerful, positive young woman, setting her apart as someone who, though not necessarily a typical pageant candidate, always strives to be genuine.
"It's all apart of staying true to who you are," Good said. "It is not what mom and dad or your peers think. Yes, the judges were laughing about my dirt-bike riding, but it is what I enjoy and who I am. I don't need to conform."
It is this very message that Good hopes to convey to all young women and children during the next year as Miss Pennsylvania Teen.
Her first official appearance with her crown was on July 23, when she visited Rita's Water Ice to support the fundraising for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises money for pediatric cancer research.
Good plans to start her own fundraising charity for children who are seriously ill, called the Badge of Courage. Working with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, she wants to give badges to children battling life-threatening conditions.

Contact assistant editor Diane Van Dyke at 610-367-6041, ext. 228 or
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