Beautiful winners for Columbia County

Columbia County sure is a beautiful place. And smart, too.

If you need proof, just look at three recent winners of local and state pageants:

At the top is Andrea Bailey, a 1997 graduate of Evans High School. Bailey won the Miss Georgia crown in June, and will represent the state in September in the prestigious Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.

On her way to winning Miss Georgia - after four years of coming close to the crown - Bailey also was Miss Augusta, Miss South Georgia, Miss Northeast Georgia, Miss Coastal Georgia and Miss Savannah. Who better to represent the state than someone who has captured crowns from one side of the state to the other?

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Following in Baileys footsteps on stage is Danielle Callan, a Greenbrier High graduate who this past weekend won the Miss Augusta title. A senior at Georgia Southern University and daughter of a Bel Air Elementary teacher, Callan will compete next year for the Miss Georgia title - and if she wins, shell be crowned by Bailey as the outgoing Miss Georgia. Wouldnt that be great?

Close on the high heels of Callan and Bailey is 15-year-old Taylor Bentler of Evans, winner of the Miss Jr. Teen Augusta title this past weekend. Taylor is a Greenbrier High sophomore, and will soon be eligible to go after the titles now held by Callan and Bailey.

If beauty is a key to winning these competitions, Baileys long experience demonstrates that the scholarships awarded to winners are a big lure for those entering. In her five years of seeking Miss Georgia, Bailey has racked up more than $65,000 in college scholarship money.

Beauty and brains: These young women certainly provide an admirable standard for Columbia County!