Hardisty teen Teneille Lesmeister was crowned Miss Teenage East Central Alberta in Calgary on Feb. 21 during the Miss Teen Alberta pageant.

Lesmeister says she first noticed the pageant as an ad on social media. It caught her interest right away, and she said she just kept seeing it until she decided to go to their website and check it out.

“I thought that it would be cool to do,” she said, but didn’t do anything about it until just before February’s competition, when she asked her parent’s permission, and then sent in her application, with a ‘head shot’ photo, and then a full biography once she was accepted.

“They were looking at someone who was fairly well rounded,” she says.

Lesmeister definitely fits the bill, having been involved in 4-H for seven years, in dance for 11 years, now a volunteer dance teacher, as well as school sports, all while maintaining academic excellence.

“Then I had an interview over Skype, and that was it, I was accepted.”

As part of her application process, she also raised $200 for Cardiac Kids, a volunteer group that raises money for children suffering from congenital heart disease.