A year of learning

For 25-year-old Miranda Savoy, serving as 2017 Ms. Boggy Bayou was an opportunity to learn something about herself and the festival that she represents.
“I’ve learned to not be so self-conscious,” she stated. “I know as a girl, we are all guilty of it. When you’re in the public eye more as a queen, you are often your worst critic. I got to see that the way others view you can sometimes be better than the way you view yourself. It’s definitely eye opening. And, about Boggy Bayou, what better way to help your community than by representing a festival where the proceeds go to the nursing home. That’s definitely something worth your time.”
The Mamou native, who is married to Christopher Paul Savoy, is the mother of Wesley and Macy and is the daughter of Tasha Perron and Shane Fontenot. Her maternal grandparents are Susan Perron and the late Peter Perron, and her paternal grandparents are Raymond Fontenot and Sherry Jamieson.
She is a 2011 graduate of Mamou High School and works as the public safety telecommunications officer and the training officer at Evangeline Parish 911. Savoy explained that her hobbies include reading, cooking, spending time with my friends and family, and I’ve also been slowly remodeling my home – single handily I might add.”
Ms. Boggy Bayou was Savoy’s first taste of being a festival queen. As she said, “This was not only my first pageant I’ve competed in since I was an infant, it’s the first title I’ve ever held.”
Her first time around as queen has allowed her to experience new opportunities. “Being the 2017 Ms. Boggy Bayou has helped me meet a lot of new people and friends I otherwise would have probably never had the opportunity of meeting,” Savoy expressed. “And, although I’ve never been shy, it has helped me to come out of my comfort zone more when interacting with new people and has given me a new found confidence in myself.”
Savoy took a moment and recently reflected on her reign as Ms. Boggy Bayou. “One of the best times I’ve had during my reign was having the privilege of attending (Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals) LAFF Queen of Queens in Baton Rouge,” she explained. “It was great to be there to support Lynee’ West (the 2017 Ms. Boggy Bayou), to spend time with some of our board members, and seeing the beautiful queens of all of our fairs and festivals we have in the state.”
“One of the festivals I attended was the Ville Platte Smoked Meat Festival,” she continued. “I got to enjoy some great food and saw Aaron Tippin in concert for the first time. I also had the opportunity to go to Village De Memoire for their Mardi Gras activities where I got to crown their Mardi Gras Queen and dance around the facility with the residents.”
Her first time as a pageant queen has allowed her to gain some advice to pass on to others in the same position. As Savoy said, “Being a good queen requires you to really get involved with not only your community, but also to attend other festivals to promote the festival that you represent. You’d be surprised the people you can meet and the impact you can make if you just put yourself out there.”
To her successor, she added, “Relax and take lots of deep breaths come pageant day, you’ll do fine no matter how nervous you are. Always be yourself, everyone will love you. Support your miss queen at every opportunity and attend every festival and event you can. It’s a great year that you get to spend having fun, and it goes by so fast, so enjoy it.”
While her time as Ms. Boggy Bayou is drawing to a close, Savoy wished to thank all of the people along the way who made her reign what it was. “I first want to thank my husband, Christopher. I drug him around to Queen of Queens and left him home on a few Saturdays to judge some pageants, and he supported me every step of the way,” she stated.
“I also want to give an even bigger thank you to Chasessica (Basco, our pageant director). Thank you for convincing me to do the pageant, for teaching me what I had to do, for answering every annoying question I had, for giving me the opportunities you have, and for keeping me laughing every step of the way.”