PANAMA CITY — It was a year of firsts for the Panama City Garden Club as it crowned the 48th Azalea Trail Queen Sunday afternoon in the first sunny Azalea Trail program the club has seen in three years.
Athina Smith, 17, a junior at Mosley High School, took the crown this year after being named among the top 10 contestants earlier this month at the first-ever public preliminary judging. Smith showed strong confidence in that earlier round, something judge Sherry Brown and Azalea Trail director Bobbie Massey both said was an important trait for the queen.
“I’m feeling overwhelmed,” Smith said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”
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Smith has participated in the Azalea Trail every year she has been eligible; she was even on the children’s court when she was younger and served as the first Garden Club ambassador this past year.
“I hope I can just be the best I can be. Whatever the Garden Club wants me to do, I’m there for them,” she said.
As Azalea Trail queen, Smith will represent the Panama City Garden Club at various events throughout the year. She also volunteers with Covenant Hospice’s masquerade ball every year, helps with pet adoptions at the Bay County Animal Shelter and is a student teacher of dance. Smith hopes to attend Auburn University in the future and become a veterinarian.
“She’s amazing, she’ll do wonderful,” said Garden Club president Pat Fenaes. Fenaes would have been happy with any of the 32 contestants being queen.
The four runners-up, listed from fourth to first runner-up, were Bailey Anne Corbin, Paige Whiting, Elise Wiselogel and Katelyn Friend.
The contestants chose a Miss Congeniality for the first time this year as well. They chose Jesselyn Dudinsky.
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Massey was proud of all the girls who participated, calling them the sweetest bunch of girls she’d ever had in her years with the program. Massey also said there were only four and a half points between the highest and lowest scores of the top five contestants, which she had never seen.
“They turn in their GPA, they fill out an application, which is judged — that’s done before they even walk out,” Massey said. “They’re not judged on how thin or how big they are, if they’ve got glasses, if they’ve got braces. That’s not a part of it.”
All girls age 14-18 are eligible and invited to participate in the Azalea Trail. Fenaes said preparation for the 2016 program will begin in December and anyone interested in applying should contact the Garden Club for more information at 763-9563 or find Azalea Trail – Bay County, FL on Facebook.com.
