Talented 4-year-old girl crowned 2007 Tiny Miss Missouri in pageant

Mihaley Schlegel, 4, shows off her crown and sash after being crowned 2007 Tiny Miss Missouri Princess.
(Photo by Rachel Harper/Democrat-News)

[Click to enlarge]

Mihaley is four years old and loves participating in pageants. She took part in the 2007 Missouri Princess Pageant in Chillicothe April 27-28. The pageant is for girls ages three to 18 where they compete in on-stage introduction, interview and formal wear categories. Contestants also have the opportunity to compete in the optional talent competition.

Mihaley competed against three other three- to four-year-old girls for the title of Tiny Miss Missouri Princess and won. Mihaley also took first place in the Tiny Miss talent contest singing "Someday I Will Be Miss America."

Mihaley is the daughter of Eldon and Michelle Schlegel of Marshall. Her favorite things to do is sing and dance.

Mihaley is not just an ordinary little girl who likes to dress up and be a princess. Mihaley has osteogenesis imperfecta, which does not allow her to do anything physical such as play ball.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), brittle bone disease, is a congenital condition of abnormal fragility of the bones. Mihaley has Type III which is the most severe form of OI that is compatible with survival past infancy and accounts for about 20 percent of all cases of OI.

The event kicked off on Friday, April 27, with a pre-pageant workshop. On-stage introductions, formal wear and optional talent took place on Friday. The pageant began at 7:30 p.m. Interviews were Saturday morning followed by the contestant parade.

"She did awesome," Michelle Schlegel said. "She lit up the stage. She has already asked when she can do it again."

Michelle Schlegel went up to Kay Burton, pageant co-director, and asked how Mihaley did in the interview because the parents were not allowed to listen. "She said she was untouchable," Michelle said.

Princesses will ride in parades and participate in special events and community events throughout the year.

"Mihaley will now represent the state of Missouri and the city of Marshall for an entire year," Michelle Schlegel said. "She will attend parades and different functions throughout Missouri and raise money for the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation to find a cure for her bone disease."

Mihaley had to raise her own funds by getting sponsors to go to the pageant.

"The cost of this pageant was just astronomical," Michelle Schlegel said. By the time you added up all the dresses, entry fees and other necessities, it cost about $700, she continued.

Mihaley went to local business and sang to the owners to get sponsors. Mihaley's sponsors include First Baptist Church of Houstonia, Minkler Construction, Timothy Ryan and staff at Missouri Valley Physicians - Internal Medicine, Harv & Company of Sedalia, Marshall Therapy Center, Viking Cleaners, 20/20 Optical, Edward Jones Investment, Imagine Hair Salon, MACO, Adventure Quest Kids, Ehrhardt Floor Covering, W.T. Maupin Agency Inc., Beerman Heating and Cooling, A & R Computer, Magic Mirror Salon, Fabulous Flowers and Gifts, and John Rector Motors.

Mihaley wants to thank all her family and friends for helping and to all her "sponsors for making all of this possible."

Contact Rachel Harper at marshallcity@socket.net