Mary Purvis ran the Miss Citrus Heights Pageant and other local city pageant titles since 1973 and passed away in March of 2014 at age 86. She was planning the 2014 Miss Citrus Heights Pageant when she passed. Her long-time Queen and right hand girl Tamara “Tami” Barbu-Brown now owns and operates the Miss Citrus Heights titles. There are new ways to being Miss Citrus Heights, as Tamara said in in her own words.

“I want to keep Mary’s royal ambassador passion and dream alive by continuing the Miss Citrus Heights Queen tradition, and I now call us the Class of Queens,” said Barbu-Brown. “I myself, as Mary did, live in Citrus Heights and just love this city! I was Ms. Citrus Heights of 1997 and helped celebrate the town of Citrus Heights becoming a City. I ‘grand-opened’ many Citrus Heights businesses over the last 25 years and even rode in the very first Citrus Heights Red, White and Blue Parade. I am thrilled, proud, and honored to be what I call the ‘new Mary Purvis,’ and now direct many of her Queen titles.

“We “Class of Queens” attend local fairs in the park with make and take crafts, face-painting, serve snow cones and hot dogs, costume parties, and even formal symphony concerts, charity dinners, and parades. With me you can earn a title or win one; to earn a title, all you have to do is prove yourself worthy of a crown and do the community work alongside of us, just hang with us and do as we do! In 2014, right after Mary’s passing, I crowned my very first Miss Citrus Heights Shadi Rezaie and her Court who were then in the 2014 Red, White and Blue Citrus Heights Parade and last year in 2015 I had my second Miss Citrus Heights Hailey Sharpe and her Court atop the 2015 Citrus Heights Parade ride! Who will be the next Miss Citrus Heights and Court to ride? I am currently looking for the next Miss, Teen Miss, Young Miss, Little Miss, Ms., Mrs., and Mr. to wear the 2016 Citrus Heights crowns. Will you be in our class of 2016 and come play with us?”

Miss Citrus Heights is not a “beauty pageant,” it is an “opportunity program”—an opportunity to represent a great city and be a given a chance to serve through volunteer community service work all year that can be used as community service credit and on job resumes. Here is where you can learn to be an outgoing, brave, and charitable person and learn social skills and teamwork. Not only that, you can make lifelong friends.

Check out the Miss Citrus Heights and Miss Greater Sacramento Facebook pages to learn more on how to join the “Queen Team,” and check out all the amazing things they do and what they are all about. On these pages, you can contact Director Tamara Barbu-Brown on how to get started and how to get a crown. Surely, Mary Purvis is smiling down from above, happy that her queen dream is still active, growing and changing to fit modern times.