MANSFIELD — For a petite 6-year-old, Charlee Backensto-Ellis has a big personality, which served her well when competing in her first-ever pageant earlier this month in Dayton.
The Eastview Elementary School Kindergartner was crowned the Tiny Miss North Coast Princess of America in the regional Princess of America Pageant. She will go on to compete in the national pageant from July 29 through Aug. 3 in Branson, Missouri.
“When she walked out on stage in a ball gown, I lost it. And when they crowned her, I lost it again,” said her mother, Hannah Ellis. “I knew she had it in her, but I guess, you never think something like this will happen, especially being from a small town.”
On a recent afternoon, Charlee wasn’t too shy to dance around Relax, It’s Just Coffee in a ball gown or tear her crown off when it slid down her forehead for the third time in a 10-minute span. Neither was she bashful when sharing her excitement about potential community service projects.
Charlee intends to become involved with Children’s Hunger Alliance to ensure all students get a hot lunch at school and to work with the Richland County Humane Society to organize a pet-adoption event.
“I plan to help dogs and cats. I want to help all the animals and for them to have homes,” Charlee said.
Hannah Ellis added that Charlee has lately asked her to pack extra food for the purpose of sharing with other students who may not have a lunch.
The Ellis family discovered the Princess of America Pageant after Hannah Ellis submitted a picture of Charlee in a photo contest, hoping to win a half-price entry into the pageant.
“So I sent in the photo, didn’t think I’d hear back from them, and then, literally three days after Christmas, I got the email that she had been picked,” Ellis said.
Charlee was crowned Tiny Miss Mansfield and would represent the city on April 7 for the state and regional pageant.
The 6-year-old and her parents, Hannah and Trent Ellis, traveled to Dayton on April 5 and stayed for the weekend. Inexperienced with pageants, the family learned more and more about the pageant process throughout the weekend.
The schedule kicked off Friday with a pageant workshop and continued through Saturday and Sunday with a registration, orientation and several rehearsals. It all led up to the Sunday pageant, complete with an opening dance number, interviews and more.
“She was in the youngest in her age group, and with her name starting with a B, she was the first on the stage every time,” Trent Ellis said.
He explained that the pageant rules restricted the use of makeup for Charlee’s age group, seeming to base their decisions on personality.
“And her personality is amazing,” he said.
As the awards were announced — even some special awards that she wasn’t competing for — Charlee stood with her fingers crossed and beamed with excitement when her name was called.
As part of her prize package, Charlee will travel to Disney next month and will compete in the national contest in Missouri. Until then, she’ll be practicing interview questions and looking for a new, purple ball gown.
“It’s all overwhelming, but I’m proud of her,” Hannah Ellis said.
