Mona Eagle’s Pageant Legacy

The most influential woman to me growing up competing in pageants was my coach, hair and makeup artist, and pageant mamaw Mona Eagle. Pageants are one of my biggest passions, and she was such a large part of my life. Although she is now in heaven, she had left such an impact in my life and many other girls and women I knew. This post is to share the legacy she had left for me.

I started competing when I was 8 years old, but started seeing a coach when I was 11 or 12. I went to a pageant boot camp with Chamanda Burris and Mona Eagle. At that time, I still did not understand how pageants worked. When I met Mona, she did a photoshoot for me where she braided the front of my hair, and my mom and I thought it was cool.

I competed at Miss American Coed pageant for the 4th year at the Miss American Victory. It was my first year in the Junior Teen division, where we were allowed to wear makeup, so we decided to book Mona Eagle. She made me look beautiful, and I ended up winning the National Speech, Modeling, and 4th Runner Up in the Victory competition. It was so exciting because I had never felt so beautiful and confident in the pageant. Her daughters Shawna and Lacey were also such an incredible part of the experience. There were two wonderful memories made at that pageant. One where my mom was so sweet she brought pasta she made for all of us on Thanksgiving Day and it was so good. My mom rarely cooks but I still even remember it. The other one was how I was (and still am) book smart but pretty clueless in the streets. I was always doing homework in the hair and makeup room or studying, but Mona asked me to put a bag of potato chips in the cabinet of her room. I was wandering around for 10 minutes and they were confused, to which I had to ask, “What’s a cabinet?” And they bursted out laughing. 

Mona and I started to get much closer on my journey to Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen. That pageant system left a great impact on me especially when I built my charity projects, Teens Go Green and Model4Miracles. Mona taught me how to do my hair and makeup, would help me prepare for the competition, and took wonderful photos. It was at that time I started the first Miss Miracle pageant and almost every contestant was one of Mona’s Divas. I didn’t realize then how supportive she was of my charity project. It was why we raised $3,072 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals that year, and $130,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals all together. Mona also brought her girls to all of my environmental service projects. Whether it was a dress resale fashion show, trash fashion event, or teddy bear making activity, it was her, her heart, and the community she creative that gave me a beautifully supportive sisterhood. 

Basically every pageant I did in my Jr Teen and Teen years was with Mona. And at that time, I would compete in several pageants a year. She was there with my biggest pageant wins – National American Miss Florida Jr. Teen, International Junior Miss Jr. Teen Top 5, Miss Florida Collegiate, Miss Earth Florida, and so many more. She was also there for my mom and sister’s pageant experiences when they did Citrus year after year and then my mom won the Ms. Citrus pageant. It was so cool then because my mom’s first ever pageant was Ms. Citrus and she was 1st Runner Up, and Mona did her hair and makeup in a super funky cool way. And then after seven years she had finally won with Mona being the most wonderful support.

Even when I didn’t compete at the pageant, I would be with her helping roll girls’ hair, stopping by Cracker Barrel, or helping her set up her hair and makeup space. She always poured her heart and soul into her girls and I was lucky to be a part of it.

But even outside the pageants competitions, she would help me with crowning pictures, coming to my appearances, and even taking photos for my family and graduation. Mona was family. She always brought every member of my family such sweet gifts and made them look gorgeous every Christmas. She drove me up to Jacksonville to meet one of the most amazing sponsors I had ever worked with, Consumers Against Toxic Apparel. She would go above and beyond for me and was so much more than a pageant coach, but truly was my grandma figure, and one of the biggest blessings in my life.

When I went to college, I competed in less pageants, my focus shifted into my new life in Miami and figuring out how I wanted my career to be. But I did pour my heart into Miss Florida USA. I’ll never forget when I was there, Mona helping me bring my bags up to my room after I had sprained my ankle and snapped two ligaments. I was also finishing up recovery from a cold, so my Dayquil caused me to have a pretty bad nose bleed during one of the pageant parties, to which she was also there to check up on me. Even after a few years of not seeing each other, I am so grateful for those moments. My roommate asked me if she was my pageant mamaw, and I realized then she was absolutely right.

A year or two had passed, when I found out she was in the hospice. My heart dropped. Her daughter Lacey asked if I could send her a message so I put together a video thanking her for everything she had done for me. It wasn’t until then I realized so many of the accomplishments I have now are because of the impact she had made in my life. If she didn’t support me at my first trash fashion show, I probably wouldn’t have become a TEDx speaker. If she didn’t give me so much unconditional love towards pageants, I probably wouldn’t have the passion for them that I have now. Going through so many photos of us and the memories, it was so hard to believe she was gone. I have a picture with her and the message her other daughter sent thanking me for the video. It still gets me emotional because Mona and I were both very sensitive people. Every time I’ve reached a milestone in my career, I wish I could let Mona know and thank her for everything she has done for me. I am grateful my video also lead other pageant people to share their memories with her. She was and still is one of the kindest, most loving, supportive people I know. How lucky I am to have had her in my life as my pageant mamaw.