Arkansas Angels Shine in Spotlight with Pageantry
The Angels Pageant System all started less than four years ago with a simple request from a daughter to her mother: “Momma, can I do a pageant?”
BJ Thorn had taken her three daughters—twins, Andrea and Bailee Jo, and younger sibling Lauren Grace—to find a gown for Lauren’s upcoming pageant.
It was just like any other trip to the shop, and Andrea watched from her wheelchair as her sisters tried on glitzy dresses. But that all changed when the shop owner turned toward then 11-year-old Andrea and asked “what about her?”
Andrea was confined to her wheelchair, so BJ declined the shop owner’s offer. “But Andrea was very smart and very aware,” BJ says. “And she heard what [the shop owner] said.” Andrea then looked up to BJ, and asked, “Momma, can I try on a dress?”
“What am I going to say?” BJ says, recalling the moment. So right in the middle of the store, BJ and the rest of the group laid Andrea on the floor, tugging and pulling until she was in the dress and back in her chair.
Andrea had been dressed up before, her mother says, but this pageant dress made her feel like something special. She zoomed around in her chair for all to see. “She just thought she was something,” BJ says. The salon owner even put a crown atop Andrea’s head.
Then came the question.
“Momma, can I do a pageant?”
Andrea and her twin sister, Bailee Jo, were born prematurely at 25 weeks. Both suffered a stroke just two days after they were born. While Bailee’s resolved, Andrea’s was massive and caused cerebral palsy. She also had hydrocephalus, which resulted in multiple brain surgeries.
BJ never wanted her daughter to feel self-conscience about her appearance, but still wanted her to be able to have this experience if she wanted it. After a talk with the shop owner, an idea was firmly planted in BJ’s mind. She was going to start a pageant system for children with special needs.
“Just looking at Andrea, why not?” BJ says. “Why not? Why would we not want [children with special needs] to feel beautiful and get dressed up? I just didn’t want everything in her life to be a no. We had enough of that.”
On the way home, she turned to her mother-in-law and said, “I guess you know. We’re going to start a pageant?” Her mother-in-law responded, “I figured.” With the help of her daughter, Bailee Jo, and husband, Johnathan, BJ had the pageant’s name and logo squared away less than 24 hours later.
From the start, BJ believed 120 kids would be in the first pageant, which is exactly the number of participatants. In that first pageant in March 2011, 120 kids from seven states graced the stage and were honored.
Following the first pageant, the interest from surrounding states poured in. Over the next three years, the Angels Pageant System spread into 30 states, and has gained interest from all 50 states, in addition to Canada, England and Australia. In its short history, the pageant system has crowned more than 1,500 kids.
Providing an Outlet
The children that pass through the pageant system deal with the same struggles and hardships that Andrea did, and for BJ, it’s been a dream to provide them an outlet. “All the families and kids that come through our system deal with that,” she says. “‘You can’t walk.’ ‘You can’t breathe on your own.’ ‘You can’t, you can’t, you can’t.’ And it’s not fair.”
More than anything, the pageants are meant for the kids to be recognized for who they are, not for a disability. “I want them to know there is beauty inside of there,” BJ says.
People like the Holders, of Conway, are the ones who benefit from that goal of the pageant system. Danielle Holder and her husband, Calvin, have three children: Ke’Von, 14, and twins, Keden and Kennedie, 4. Much like Andrea, Keden and Kennedie were born prematurely at 25 weeks. Both weighed less than two pounds. Keden was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and Kennedie, hydrocephalus.
When they were first born, the doctors didn’t give either much of a chance to survive. “But God saw it a bit differently,” Danielle says.
The twins are four years old now. Keden is a charmer. His mom says his smile can light up a room. “So long as I see him smile,” Danielle says,” I know everything will be okay.”
Kennedie, on the other hand, is full of attitude and fight. She’s earned a special nickname from her mom. “Diva,” Danielle says,” That’s what I call her, Diva.”
Both twins still have their struggles, but both of them are fighting. “It’s truly a blessing,” their mother says. “I call them my inspiration. When I have bad days, I just look at them and look at all they’ve come through and know it could be 10 times worse.”
The pageant gives the Holder family a time to celebrate all the twins have accomplished in their short lives. “It does the whole family joy to see them walk on the stage, do their thing and be honored on their day,” Danielle says.
“I love the Angels Pageant, and it truly fits,” she says. “My twins are truly my angels.”
Andrea’s Legacy
Even though it was her request that started the pageant system, Andrea was not able to participate in the first pageant in 2011. She became ill just weeks before, and instead of receiving her crown onstage, she lay in a hospital bed. Her mother thought it was a cruel joke that she and Andrea couldn’t be there.
Still, Andrea was crowned five times in future pageants. Her condition worsened through the past three years, but the pageant provided a much-needed escape for Andrea and her family.
“We had a lot of problems and struggles,” BJ says. “Being her mom and knowing inside I was watching my child die—and not wanting to admit it—the pageant was one thing that as a family, we all put it away for a day, and just went and had fun.”
After a life of battling against the odds, Andrea passed away in December 2013.
“Last year, I had no idea it would be her last [pageant], I didn’t,” BJ says. “I can tell you, that little girl was beautiful, and was so happy.”
Even though Andrea is gone, BJ has no regrets about her 15 years on earth. “We shoved 80 years into 15,” she says. “I have no doubt everything that baby ever said she wanted to do was done.”
Now, BJ’s mission is continuing the pageant to further Andrea’s legacy and spirit. Andrea not only wanted the pageant for herself, but for the other kids, as well.
Even though Andrea’s brain damage affected her short-term memory, including remembering names, she recognized faces and always greeted them with a warm smile. Her mother says if she saw someone she recognized from the pageant, whether it be a volunteer of another kid, they “were getting a bony, little hug” and a “how are you doing today?”
“Even until she passed away, she was asking the doctor, ‘how are you today?’” BJ says. “That was her. Through everything we’ve done with the pageant, that is the legacy we want to leave, caring about other people and asking ‘how are you doing today?’”
BJ is adamant that Andrea taught her the important things in life, and made her the woman she is today. For that reason, the pageants must go on. “We learned so much from her,” she says. “The pageants have to continue, because even though it started with her, it’s not going to end with her.”
BJ is also working on a book to further Andrea’s legacy. Right now, it’s in the form of blog posts that can be seen at GrievingMothersMemoir.Weebly.com. BJ wants her writing to convey the message of hope through faith in tough times. “I think that if our story could convey anything, it would be you can overcome whatever circumstances there are,” she says. “You don’t have to be a victim of life. It’s hard, it’s not always pretty, it’s sad, but it’s also really good.”
For the future, BJ just wants the pageants to continue to grow, hopefully, into all 50 states and possibly worldwide. “If we can change the world’s perspective, then I think that’s what we were here to do in the first place,” she says. “It wasn’t about the crowns and sashes. It was about something much bigger than that.”
“There are so many families that deserve that feeling that we had of possibility, of hope and happiness,” BJ says. “Even if it’s just for a minute, it’s the least we can do.”
(Also see: Showtime! Behind the Curtain of an Angels Pageant)
