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Holiday Pageant Application
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| 7th Annual Holiday Pageant to benefit The William M. Espey Memorial Scholarship Fund |
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| Saturday, November 22, 2003 at St. Pauls Middle School Auditorium in St. Pauls, N.C. |
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| Welcome to our website! We hope that you're prepared for a great experience to share with your family and loving memories that you'll never forget! Yes, it's already been a year (time sure does seem to fly)! Preparations are underway for the 2003 Holiday Pageant, and we hope that if you haven't already decided to participate that you will decide to do so. We're looking forward to another great year! The past six (6) years have been both an exciting and humbling experience. I wouldn't trade one moment of it for anything. The pageants have also helped in the healing process of my family, friends, and community as so many people come together to show their support. Many of you who have participated have shared with us that you feel you have been introduced to Billy and have come to know him and our family in the process. This, too, has meant so much to us because it helps us to feel that his memory is very much alive and well, and that others continue to get to know him as the loving, caring, sharing, compassionate, fun-loving, God-fearing person that he was. For those of you who are considering this pageant for the first time, I must be honest in telling you that if you're seeking one that is "high glitz" with many people doing it just to see if it's another title to put under their belt, or one where everyone is out to beat others at any cost, this is not be the pageant system for you. Yes, it is nicely organized, everyone will go home with something, and everyone hopes they will do well, but the back-biting and criticizing of others is not tolerated. Our title competition is Sunday wear, so you do not have to put hundreds of dollars into the attire, and we stress that the participants be themselves and look their age! No heavy makeup or "perfect" hair styles are needed. If you're in search of a fun, memorable, and even worshipful experience, this is for you and we welcome you with open arms! We have many contestants who come back year after year and we'd be honored for you to join our family and circle of friends (which just seems to grow bigger and bigger)!!! Some of you may know me and/or my family, but I feel I need to introduce those of you who don't know us to my family and my brother, William Michael (Billy) Espey. Billy is my younger brother; we also have an older brother, Tommy. Growing up as a middle child and being the only girl was sometimes difficult, but I would never trade those memories for anything. We grew up in St. Pauls. My parents, along with myself and my brothers, graduated from St. Pauls High School. I still live in St. Pauls with my husband, Ken our two daughters, Andrea and Taylor, and our son, Ryan; so do my parents, Tom and Lou Espey. Tommy now lives in Lumberton. Upon completing high school in 1991, Billy entered the United States Army where he became a medic. After finishing his tour early in 1994, he enrolled as a student at Robeson Community College. He had planned to enter the nursing program and began taking courses that would lead to a nursing degree, then on to becoming a physician's assistant. At times he worked two jobs and attended school full time. Several months were spent driving to Lumberton for school, then home for a change of clothes and on to work at RPS in Fayetteville. He eventually ended the job with RPS to work at St. Pauls Truck Stop in order "to keep from being on the road so much." Ironically, that didn't make much difference in the long run. The past nine years have been extremely difficult for our family and many people in surrounding communities. On December 19, 1994, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Billy was on his way from Lumberton to St. Pauls to go to work when he was involved in an awful accident on I95 less than two miles away from the St. Pauls exit. He was air lifted to Duke University Medical Center where he remained in a coma until he passed away on December 26, 1994 at the young age of twenty-two. This pageant was founded in 1997 after an anyomous donor provided monies to start a scholarship fund in Billy's name. I had put my children in a few pageants and knew that they could be great fund raisers. The first year we had 66 contestants and every year it has grown! Last year we were up to 110. It is unbelievable how this has just blossomed! I know God's hand is at work in all of this. We give Him all the praise for this and what is accomplished to help other young adults pursue their education. Without our participants, sponsors, helpers, judges, emcees, auditors, and many supporters, this would not be possible! It's all so very overwhelming! Billy was, and still is, many things to many people. He is a wonderful person who showed his Christian love by putting his own needs on the "back burner" to help others who were in need. During his final months he was especially "tuned in" to people who were experiencing the grief of having lost a loved one. We only learned of this after his death, but it was no surprise to be told about visits to those in grief or to the grave site of those people he was especially close to. His warm sense of humor could brighten even the darkest of moments. He was very intelligent and worked very hard toward achieving his dreams and could be very serious when it came to issues of importance to him. He loved life. Hunting was a hobby he enjoyed because it allowed him to witness God's creation around him. He was very down to earth, and even the simplest of things meant the world to him. He was a very dear friend to many of you in life, and has become a friend of numerous others after his death through this pageant. Billy was not only my little brother, but also my very best friend! Thank you for your support and may God richly bless each and every one of you! |
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| St. Pauls | NC | 28384 |
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| Visitors: 03665 |