Katherine takes on country's best

Aldergrove's Katherine Slack made it to the top 20 in the Miss World Canada pageant, March 21 in Toronto.

A model/soprano from North York, 21-year-old Lena Yanbing Ma was crowned Miss World Canada 2009 at the beauty pageant at St. Lawrence Centre for The Arts - Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto. Lena also won the talent portion of the competition and the best in evening gown award. The 1.80 m tall beauty will be the representative of her country at the Miss World 2009 pageant in December at Johannesburg, South Africa.

Katherine Slack, 20-years-old and 5'4", won the title Miss Fraser Valley B.C. World 2008-'09 last July 20, and attended the Miss World Canada 2009 pageant in Toronto during spring break. A total of 47 provincial winners proceeded to Toronto for this national pageant.

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant, created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since 2000 his wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant. Alongside with its rival, Miss Universe and Miss Earth contests, this pageant is one of the most publicised beauty contests in the world. The telecast of the final competition is the world's largest live annual beauty pageant television event with viewers around the globe.

The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and its various causes. Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign. The current Miss World is Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia.

Katherine Slack also won Miss Teen Fraser Valley in 2005.

Youth program seeks Canada’s finest teens

The call is out to find Canada’s best overall teens for the second annual Top Teen of Canada competition. Teenagers from across the country will be chosen to represent their communities in a competition that will award $5,000 in cash scholarship prizes.

This August, the chosen delegates will travel to Vancouver for one week, where the focus will be entirely on them and what they can contribute to the nation should they be chosen as the Top Teen of Canada.

In 2008, a group of 26 teenagers from small towns across Canada converged in Vancouver to discuss issues that were important to them, from self-image and body issues to homelessness and poverty. Open to the public, this was the perfect platform for these amazing young men and women to have their voices heard. This year, the program will be filmed for a youth documentary.

As well, the Top Teen program raised over $20,000 for their chosen charity, Cops For Cancer for the Canadian Cancer Society. Each chosen delegate will again do a fundraiser towards this cause in his/her hometown prior to attending the final event.

During the week, they will receive professional training in various genres to enhance their life skills including public speaking, speech presentation, interview skills, and attend workshops such as self-defense, stress management, and health and fitness. A judging panel will determine the winner based on a speech presentation, interview, and a personal talent showcase. Last year’s contestants received nation-wide media coverage and were viewed as role models for other youth.

“Teenagers can make an incredible difference in their community and have great potential for leadership,” says creator Darren Storsley, a high school teacher and winner of the 2004 Canadian Male Model Search. “This program will allow youth to exceed and for the overall winner, a year of public appearances representing Canadian youth.”

The Top Teen of Canada Competition is open to all teenagers aged 13-18. (bclocalnews.com)