Community Corner

St. Clair Shores Sweep: Shelby Gardiner Wins Miss Oakland County Title

The Oakland University student will spend the year representing Oakland County with fellow St. Clair Shores resident Vanessa Chambe, Miss Oakland County's Outstanding Teen.

St. Clair Shores had a very good night at Saturday's Miss Oakland County pageant, held at the in Farmington Hills.

Just hours after 14-year-old Lake Shore High freshman Vanessa Chambe won the Miss Oakland County Outstanding Teen pageant, 20-year-old Shelby Gardiner was crowned Miss Oakland County. Along with Gardiner, 13 other contestants vied for the title:

  • Brenna Christine O'Malley, 23, Sterling Heights - 3rd runner-up
  • Victoria Lines, 17, Troy
  • Elana Bandalene, 19, Sylvan Lake
  • MacKenzie Lauren Strom, 18, Commerce - 1st runner-up
  • Crissie Zuchora, 22, Hazel Park
  • Camille Bridges, 19, Southfield
  • Meaghan Priebe, 22, Plymouth
  • Kayla Pingel, 19, Farmington
  • Mollie Catherine Smith, 19, Milford - 2nd runner-up
  • Demi Lashbrook, 20, Marysville
  • Melissa Keith, 21, Wolverine Lake 
  • Danica Katnik, 20, Howell
  • Rebecca Fisher, 22, Shelby Twp. - 4th runner-up

A junior elementary education major at Oakland University, Gardiner said she got involved in pageants four years ago, starting with Miss Teen St. Clair Shores.

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"It was a way for me to dance and win scholarship money," Gardiner said. She has stayed with the Miss America program because of "the girls, the people you meet, the friends you know" and the chance to promote her platform, which is "Date Rape Prevention: Be Smart". 

"My sister was a victim of date rape, and I was sexually abused," Gardiner said. "This is a way for me to speak out." She said she has already begun holding date rape prevention workshops at Oakland University. 

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Gardiner wins more than $1,000 in scholarship money, professional coaching with Rubicon Management, a portfolio photography session with Robert Bowden Photography and other gifts.


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