Junior Miss Pageant took winner’s mother back in time

By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer

March 25, 2008 12:57 am

— WAGONER — When Wagoner High School senior Kaileigh Bullard was crowned Oklahoma’s Junior Miss 2008 last week, some of the loudest cheers came from Oklahoma’s Junior Miss 1979.
“I was crying,” said the 1979 Junior Miss. “I was whooping. I was hollering. I was crying. I wanted it for her so badly.”
And for a very special reason. Gayle Clark Bullard, Oklahoma’s Junior Miss 1979, is Kaileigh Bullard’s mother.
Kaileigh, 17, said she decided to enter Junior Miss after finding out it was still offered.
Bullard, 46, said seeing her daughter attend and participate in Oklahoma’s Junior Miss “brought back a lot of fond memories.”
She said she told her daughter to “just be herself.”
“Let Jesus shine through you,” she said. “It’s what’s inside that counts. It’s what’s inside that’s worth showing.”
Kaileigh had plenty to show at the contest. She received the overall Self-Expression, Scholastic, Fitness, Talent and Judges’ Interview awards in the contest. An accomplished musician, Kaileigh sang, did a clog dance and fiddled to “This Country’s Rockin/ Orange Blossom Special” at the pageant.
That’s one big difference from what her mother did 32 years ago.
“I prepared a talk about Oklahoma and did the Lord’s Prayer in Indian sign language,” Gayle Bullard said.
She said she also had to sew a garment.
“Simplicity patterns was a national sponsor,” she said. “Kraft Foods was a national sponsor, so I had to cook something. Kodak was a national sponsor, so I took lots of pictures.”
Gayle Bullard finished as fourth runner-up in the America’s Junior Miss pageant in Mobile, Ala. Kaileigh will compete in the 51st national finals this June in Mobile.
Gayle Bullard said this year’s routines appear a lot more difficult than what she went through.
“There is a lot more fitness,” she said.
“The state Junior Miss director said I had to get in shape for the national contest, that I had to work out at the gym,” Kaileigh said.
Another difference from 1979. Kaileigh wears a silver medal proclaiming her title. Her mother wore a crown. Gayle got $1,000; Kaileigh, $2,500.
Neither mother nor daughter said they thought they were Junior Miss material.
“I am not a pageant girl,” Gayle Bullard said. “I was involved in 4-H and I showed steers and pigs. But my kindergarten teacher thought I hung the moon and encouraged me to get involved. She believed in me so much. She knew I could do it.”
Gayle Bullard went on to attend Northeastern State University and earn a degree in education. She was principal of an elementary school in Union Public Schools. She said she quit her education career to raise kids. She has a younger son, Kolton, 13.
Kaileigh is no stranger to the spotlight. She has fiddled, dance and sung with NSU’s Downtown Country since she was in elementary school.
She said being in a competition made her a little nervous. She said she doubts she’ll get involved in another scholarship pageant.
“It was fun, but it was a little out of my comfort zone,” she said.
This is the second major honor the mother and daughter share. Gayle Bullard, 46, said she was a valedictorian for Wagoner High School’s class of 1979 and Kaileigh is this year’s Wagoner valedictorian. Kaileigh plans to attend Belmont University in Nashville and pursue a music-related career.
Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

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