Scene + Heard: Crowning Achievements’ Special Needs Pageant

It was in 2008 that Shelby Lokken was thrilled to be crowned Miss Hudson Princess. Even though she was only 16, she decided that young adults of all abilities should be able to participate in a pageant just like she did. So, she helped create Crowning Achievements, a nonprofit organization that offers free social activities to disabled young men and women.

For its annual fundraising event, Crowning Achievements hosts (yes, you guessed it!) a pageant. This year, at the sixth pageant and raffle, guests took their seats at Faith Community Church in New Richmond, Wis. On a stage strung with sparking lights, pageant participants donned donated tuxes and formals and smiled their winningest smiles. Every single one of them was named a Crowning Achievements princess or king.