With the crowning of 18-year-old Jemison High School graduate Jessica Swindle at the conclusion of Thursday evening’s Miss Peach Pageant, the group of Chilton County Peach Queens was set for the coming year.

Jessica Swindle, Junior Miss Peach Kaitlin Ray, Young Miss Peach Leah Easterling and Little Miss Peach Gracie Owens are all beautiful, bright and personable.

All the queens are deserving, and so are the girls that walked away from the pageant empty-handed. Such is the nature of these competitions. Simply participating requires a commitment of many hours and much work.

But perhaps “empty-handed” is not the best term to use. We hope that even the girls that didn’t earn a sash or crown walk away from the experience with new friendships, more self-confidence and better idea of what it takes to succeed in life.

As for the new queens, we couldn’t be happier. They’ve been to the practices and the parties and worn all the dresses, but their job is just now beginning. These ladies are tasked with representing Chilton County at various events for a full year.

We think our new queens are people we can be proud of and look forward to their reign.