Kayla Van Ginneken, a junior at Wallkill Valley Regional High School, was crowned Miss Hardyston 2023. (Photos provided)
Alanna Romeo, 12, was chosen as Junior Miss Hardyston.
Aria Kosco, 5, won Little Miss Hardyston and Roman Hunt, 4, was named Little Mr. Hardyston.
Miss Hardyston 2022, Emily Carey, left, crowns Miss Hardyston 2023, Kayla Van Ginneken.
Kayla Van Ginneken, a junior at Wallkill Valley Regional High School, was crowned Miss Hardyston 2023 at the annual pageant Friday, June 2.
Van Ginneken, 17, said her one wish was to eradicate disease and suffering throughout the world.
She plans to attend a four-year college and pursue a degree in the medical field. She takes modeling classes and plays soccer.
Alanna Romeo, 12, was chosen as Junior Miss Hardyston. She is a sixth grader at Hardyston Middle School.
Aria Kosco, 5, won Little Miss Hardyston and Roman Hunt, 4, was named Little Mr. Hardyston.
Aria is in pre-kindergarten at Growing and Knowing Academy, and Roman Hunt is in pre-kindergarten at Hardyston Elementary School.
About 70 people attended the pageant. Councilman Stanley Kula was the master of ceremonies, and the three judges were from the Hardyston Recreation Committee.
The event was sponsored by the Recreation Committee and coordinated by Dana Vitz, Hardyston confidential executive assistant and deputy registrar.
The Miss Hardyston 2022, Emily Carey, said her favorite part of her reign was reading a book to children at the elementary school in May and being a teen counselor for Safety Town last summer.
Safety Town is a program that teaches children safety lessons about fire, pedestrians/traffic, water, guns and poisons/drug safety.
Carey is graduating from Wallkill Valley and will attend college in the fall.
Sponsors of the contest were the Hardyston Township PBA, which provided a cash prize; Sussex County YMCA, which gave three-month family memberships; Master Ken’s Xtreme Martial Arts Center In Hamburg, which donated Taekwondo lessons; Avon representative Jeannette Chadavoyne of Stockholm, who donated gift bags; Skylands Ice World, which gave gift certificates; Dance Expression Dance Arts, which donated gift baskets and gift certificates; Painted Grape in Hardyston, which donated paint kits and gift certificates; Blue Spice Restaurant, which gave gift certificates; Hardyston Township Recreation, which gave gift cards; and Stylz Salon, which provided a gift bag.