Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Bentley Bennett, a Carbon High sophomore, is hosting an all-abilities pageant.
- The event, "Crowning Confidence," will occur Jan. 10 at Price Civic Auditorium.
- Price City Council waived the auditorium fee and donated $250 to support Bentley.
PRICE — A high school sophomore and teen pageant titleholder in Carbon County is on an undertaking to create a space where individuals with special needs feel accepted and treated like everyone else.
Bentley Bennett, Miss Sego Lily's Teen and a student at Carbon High School in Price, is hosting an all-abilities pageant in January, aimed at celebrating teens with special needs.
The 15-year-old knows firsthand about participating and competing in various pageants as Bentley said she's done so for several years, but she also knows that not everyone gets to have that experience.
"I realized that some people don't really get the opportunity to do that because of things they can't control," she told KSL.com. "So I wanted to create a pageant that could give them the opportunity to compete in it and not feel like they're any less than, because they can't compete in normal ones."
She said the event, Crowning Confidence, which aligns with her "Confidence in Yourself" service initiative, empowers people to feel confident in themselves, no matter who they are or the challenges that life has placed upon them.
The pageant is slated to take place Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Price Civic Auditorium.
Bentley said the event will feature the same glitz and glamour that any other pageant would include.
"I wanted to give them the opportunity to get hair and makeup (done) and then during the pageant, they're going to have outfit of choice and then they'll also have a talent where they can share whatever they want," she explained.
The initiative comes from a personal place, as Bentley said she has had her own struggles with confidence and feeling accepted.
"And it's still a battle that I'm fighting," she said.
Bentley's mother, Nicole Bennett, said she's proud of the progress her daughter has made and how she's taking the opportunity to impact others.
"She's been working really hard to make sure that she can make other people feel the way that they all deserve to feel," Nicole Bennett said.
One example is a dance class Bentley leads at the Castle Valley Center, a school for students with special needs, where she volunteers.
"It's one of my favorite things to do, and I love seeing all of them shine when you give them the chance to shine," she said. "That's why this is also so important to me, because I love all those kids so much, and they're going to get the chance to participate in my pageant."
City officials in Price are also seemingly in support of Bentley's efforts. At its meeting on Nov. 25, the Price City Council granted her request to waive the $250 fee required to use the auditorium and made a donation in the same amount toward the event.
"I think it's exciting that Price city even volunteered to donate, because we didn't really know how to ask people or where to go with it," Nicole Bennett said. "But the fact that we had community members reach out was kind of awesome."
Bentley said her goal is for the all-abilities pageant to become a yearly event in Carbon County.
Registration for those who want to participate is open until Dec. 12, and aspiring talent can sign up here.
"I just think that this is a really great opportunity, and I'd love to have as many people participate in it and help out with it however they want," Bentley said.
She says they are still looking for support through donations and sponsors who would like to be a part of the event.
More information can be found by visiting Bentley's website.
