'Amazing' local miss to represent state in pageant.

• Author: Oleson, Ellie
• Position: Weeklies

Byline: Ellie Oleson

OXFORD -- Abby Dawidczyk, 22, has always been very special to her family and community, but now she has been recognized as a state champion.

Ms. Dawidczyk, a blue-eyed blonde with a brilliant and nearly constant smile, was named Miss Amazing Massachusetts Junior Miss 2014 in the first Miss Amazing Massachusetts Pageant, held in December in Medfield. She plans to represent Massachusetts in the national pageant this fall in Nebraska.

"The best part was having fun and meeting everybody. I had so much fun, and I was not nervous at all. The best was the talent part and my singing,'' she said.

Her enthusiastic performance of the national anthem during the talent competition had the entire audience on its feet. She also breezed through the interview process and walked with a turn across the stage during the evening gown event.

Other winners were Miss Junior Teen Julie Rose Awbrey and Miss Pre Teen Madeline Cartwright.

Abby's parents, Patricia and John Dawidczyk, safety captain for the Worcester Fire Department, were there to cheer their daughter on with a contingent of family and friends, including Abby's grandmother, Barbara Donovan; aunts Julie Bosowski and Susan Manzi; and uncle, Gerry Manzi.

"Abby's very, very excited. I'm so proud of her and of our state for hosting this wonderful event,'' said Mrs. Dawidczyk, commercial manager for Cantiani Insurance Agency in Worcester.

The Miss Amazing Pageant was begun in 2007 by Jordan Somer, a beauty queen from Nebraska, who was inspired after volunteering at the Special Olympics.

Last year, more than 20 states held Miss Amazing pageants, and on Dec. 7, Massachusetts held its first pageant at the Thomas A. Blake Middle School in Medfield. The pageant was open to contestants 5 to 35.

Organizer and director of the state pageant was Andrea Nevins, 16, a sophomore at Medfield High School. She said the goal of the Miss Amazing Pageant is to "build self-esteem for young women with disabilities through pageantry.''

Each participant received a princess crown, and Ms...