COURTLAND—When Cameron Francis’s number was called for Miss Teen Franklin-Southampton County Fair, she was a rush of emotions.

“I was like, ‘OK Cameron, you cannot cry. If you do, all of your pictures will have running makeup,’” the 15-year-old said with a laugh. “Then all I could think about was getting to my mom and giving her a hug — I was super excited.”

On Wednesday evening, girls in five categories were crowned in the second annual Little Miss Franklin-Southampton County Fair Pageant. The Teen winner was, as mentioned, Francis, of Newsoms; Alicia Sickelton, 13, of Drewryville, took home the tiara for the Preteen category; Rachel Blythe, 8, of Courtland, was crowned in the Junior category; Isabelle Melbye, 6, of Franklin, received the tiara in the Little category; and the Wee Miss was Laney Butler, 3, of Newsoms.

The runners-up were Wee, Kaley Raiford, 3, of Courtland; Little, Keira Doss, 6, of Franklin; Junior, Briana Porter, 9, of Franklin; Preteen, Sydney Taroli, 11, of Franklin; and Teen, Nicole Copeland, 15, of Franklin.

Miss Congeniality awards were also presented: Junior, Kirby O’Donnell, 8, of Courtland; Preteen, Kalli Britt, 12, of Courtland; and the Teen was Copeland.

A big trophy was also given to the Wee runner-up, Raiford, for raising the most money in the fundraiser, which will partially go toward scholarships. Out of a total of approximately $6,000, the 3-year-old raised $510. Last year, the girls raised approximately $5,000.

Ada Butler said she wanted her daughter to enter because she is a social butterfly, and also she thought Laney would enjoy it.

“She loves to sing and dance, and she is not really scared to talk to people or be out in front of people,” Butler said. “So I asked her, and she was very excited and wanted to do it. Every week, she would say, ‘Are we going to practice today?’ She looked forward to practice every week.”

Laney loved being crowned.

“The crown reminds her of being a princess,” Butler said. “She calls it her princess sash and her princess tiara. She says she is a Wee Princess.”

Throughout, the whole experience was good for Laney.

“For her to come out, see all of those people looking at her and to continue and do what she was supposed to do, I was just very proud of her,” Butler said. “And then when we went back stage and we changed her out of her dress, she asked in front of all of the other girls, “Are we going to do it again?’

“She wanted to go out there and do it again right then.”

Isabelle Melbye said that being the queen is full of responsibilities.

“It is about helping others,” she said. “It is about taking care of other people.”

The competition was very exciting to be in.

“My favorite part was when I got crowned,” Melbye said. “I had been in pageants before. This was my first time being crowned. I was real excited.”

Kim Blythe, Rachel’s mother, said that Rachel has cerebral palsy, so having her perform in pageants was a way to get her involved.

“Because she does have CP she can’t play in sports and stuff like that,” she said. “I started putting her in pageants so she could be a part of something.

“I think she was just happy walking out in front of everybody and waving. And she loves to hug everybody. She enjoyed being around the other girls and hugging them constantly, even at practice.”

Neither went in thinking that Rachel would win.

“I just wanted her to be a part of something, I didn’t really care if she won,” Blythe said. “I was just surprised, and she just kept saying, ‘I won!’ So, I think she was surprised too.”

Alicia Sickelton said she thought it would be fun to enter the competition, and never really thought about winning until they called her name.

“I used to do pageants when I was little, and I wanted to try it again,” she said. “I also wanted to meet more people. I made a lot of new friends. They were all really nice and very cool.”

Her favorite part was the sportswear category because she thought it let the girls show off more of their personality. Sickelton wore a camouflage shirt and skirt while carrying a hunting bow.

“I like to hunt, and I didn’t think a lot of people would go that far,” she said. “I thought it was cool.”

And getting to spend time with the other girls over the year sounds fun, as does getting more involved in the community.

“I’m looking forward to all of the things and events that I get to be in and do this year,” Sickelton said. “It’s fun meeting the community — I had a lot of fun at the talent show last night, getting introduced. It’s very exciting.”

The year to come also sounds good to Francis.

“I want to get to know the other girls and the queen,” she said. “They are all super pretty, and all super sweet. I’m excited that we get a whole year to spend together.”

Francis thought that entering in the pageant would be a good opportunity to hone her personable skills more for the future.

“I got in some interview time, which I thought I needed,” she said. “The on-stage questions, the practice and the interview, I think that’s going to help me right off the bat as I start looking at colleges.

“I think the pageant helped me boost my self-confidence a little, helped me get out there.”

Next year, she’d be eligible for the queen pageant, but she thinks she might take a year off.

“Once I hand down my crown, I think I might be too emotional to do any of that,” she said. “I’m so excited to be Miss Teen.”