2009 Miss Tranquility & Lord Calvert Rules and Regulations

Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert Rules & Regulations

A.  CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

1.  The Miss Tranquility Pageant and Lord Calvert Contest is open to all persons between the ages of 16 and 19 as of August 31, of the participating year.

2.  Each candidate must be enrolled in a secondary school or post-secondary school and have a 75% cumulative grade point average. “Cumulative grade point averageâ€� is defined as the average of the candidate’s grade points for all years of secondary or post secondary school attended.

3.  Each candidate must have been a resident of Calvert County for at least three (3) years.

4.  A candidate must never have been married nor have had children prior to or during the reign (September 2009 through September 2010).

5.  Former winners are not eligible to participate in either contest.  Please note:  Miss Calvert Farm Bureau is eligible to participate in the Miss Tranquility Contest.

6.  Application materials must be received by midnight, September 11, 2009. These can be mailed to:                                         

        The Calvert Fair, Inc.

P.O. Box 224

Barstow, Maryland 20610

Attention: Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert

Applications may be obtained from any committee member, your high school’s guidance office, this website or you may use the application found at the end of these rules & regulations.  Applications must be complete or will be disqualified.

7.  All contestants are required to participate in assigned events at the Fair.  Exceptions will be made for previous engagements that are specified in writing by the contestant to the committee by the evening of the orientation and essay writing.

8.  Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert are required to be at the Fairgrounds a minimum of 20 hours each during Fair Week, of which 6 hours will be on “Youth Day,â€� Friday, October 2, 2009.  In addition, these winners will be required to represent the Calvert County Fair at other selected county events, such as the Fair Appreciation dinner, and the PRAD and Christmas parades.

B. SPONSOR REQUIREMENTS

1.  Each Contestant must be sponsored by an individual, a club, business, church group or other organization from Calvert County (Please note: The committee is willing to help with this if notified prior to the application deadline, September 11, 2009).

2.  Each sponsor is required to pay an entry fee of $35 for their contestant.  Please make checks payable to the Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert Contest.

3.  The sponsor is asked to be present at the program on September 27, 2009.

 C.  MISS TRANQUILITY and LORD CALVERT SELECTION

Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert will be selected based on the following items:

1.  School Transcript - 10 percent

School Transcript points will be awarded based on the cumulative G.P.A. 

2.  Personal Interview - 40 percent (with a panel of out-of-county judges)

The contestants will be judged on poise, neatness of appearance and the content of their answers to the judges’ questions, as well as their involvement in school, community and extra-curricular activities. 

3.  Written Essay - 15 percent

An essay of no more than 500 words will be written by each contestant.  The essay will be judged on grammar, spelling, structure, content, and relation to the topic.  Contestants will be given 2 hours, in the presence of a committee member, to write the essay.  Dictionaries are allowed. 

4.  Autobiographical Speeches - 25 percent 

The autobiographical speech will be at least three, but no more than five minutes in length.  It will be given the day of the program and will be judged on the content, public speaking ability, poise, and length by the out-of-county judges.

5.  Extemporaneous Question - 10 percent 

Each contestant will be asked the same extemporaneous question on stage.  Contestants who have not answered will not be able to hear the question or the answers.

 D. AWARDS

1.  Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert will each receive a $1250 scholarship to the post-secondary school of choice.  The 1^st runners-up will each receive a $200 savings bond and all other contestants will each receive a savings bond.

2.  Scholarship monies must be requested in writing within 6 months of the winner’s high school graduation.  Proof of enrollment in a post-secondary school must be provided to receive the scholarship. 

3.  The committee reserves the right to allow judges to not award first place in either contest if no contestant receives at least 80 points.

E. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

1.  September 11, 2009 - Deadline for ALL application materials and fee to be received by 12 midnight at the address listed on the application.

2.  September 16, 2009 - Essay writing and orientation for all contestants at the Fair Board Office.  Essay writing will begin at 5:00 p.m.  Light dinner will be served and photos taken for press release. 

3.  September 27, 2009 -  2:30 p.m. - The Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert Contest 

Personal interviews will be held early that same day. The public is invited to attend the program that afternoon where the autobiographical speeches will be given, the extemporaneous question answered , and the new Miss Tranquility and Lord Calvert will be announced. This will be held in the Main Building at the Fairgrounds. Contestants are expected to be present all day. 

4.  September 30, 2009 through October 4, 2009 - The Calvert County Fair - All contestants are required to be present as described previously.