Maxey Heads Pageant Judging Panel

When 47 young women converge on Mexico, Missouri next week to compete for titles at the Miss Missouri Pageant, Trenton will not be represented by a contestant.
But heading up the judge’s panel will be Trenton resident and longtime pageant veteran Steve Maxey.
“It’s been several years since I have attended the pageant ” said Maxey, “but I feel very honored to be invited to participate in the 45th anniversary pageant in Mexico.”
Things are a bit different since Maxey was actively involved in the pageant and now two titles are given – one to Miss Missouri who advances to the Miss America Pageant and one to Missouri’s Outstanding Teen who will represent the state in America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant.
Maxey will be one of five judges responsible for selecting the teen title holder along with fellow judges from Arkansas, California and Kentucky.
“Even though I have been away from the pageant for several years, I still know several of the young women competing for the Miss Missouri title and even assisted some of them in advice and coaching, “ he said. “As a result I will be judging the teen pageant where I know none of the contestants.”
Missouri is once again gaining national recognition, Maxey said, as Miss Missouri was a Top 10 finalist at Miss America last year and the teen titleholder was the third runner-up to America’s Outstanding Teen.”
“All contestants compete in three nights of preliminaries, all on the same stage making the production bigger than what it used to be, and then winners are crowned at the conclusion of the week,” he said.
Maxey was one of the founders of the Miss Trenton Area Scholarship Pageant in 1972 and served as either the director or producer for over 30 years, leading the pageant to state and national recognition as Missouri’s oldest local and top preliminary pageant. He has served as a regional field director and director of field operations of the Miss Missouri Pageant, state liaison to the Miss America Pageant and for many years was the business manager of Miss Missouri. In addition, he has been a master of ceremonies and judged over 500 local and state pageants in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska and Oklahoma.