Fifteen-year-old Delaney Teske was just a little girl, only eight years old, when she took home the crown in 2008 for a prestigious national pageant, “Little Miss You Can Do It.” The pageant was founded by Abbey Curran, who was named Miss Iowa in 2008, and was the first woman with Cerebral Palsy to compete in the Miss USA pageant. She developed “Little Miss You Can Do It” in 2004 as a way to boost confidence for young women with disabilities. Delaney connected immediately with Curran as she also has Cerebral Palsy.
Delaney and her family were invited to travel to Dallas, Texas in 2009 to crown the next winner of Curran’s pageant. But, Delaney’s mother Dayna, said, the sponsors didn’t show up and nothing was ready, so her family pitched in to help out and get the pageant running.
In 2010, the “Dreams Made True” pageant—which is named using Delaney Marie Teske’s initials—was born with 11 participants and some pretty simple and straightforward eligibility requirements.
Last year was a record-setting year, with 33 contestants and this year’s pageant, which will be held Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16, has 23 registered contestants so far. This is also the first year that the Teske’s will be hosting the pageant from out of state as the family moved to Minnesota last fall when Dave accepted a new position.
The public portion of the pageant will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Gene Vincent Auditorium at the Carroll High School. It will be followed at 6 p.m. by a dinner the public is invited to attend. First-place prizes are awarded in each age group: Little Miss; Junior Miss; Teen Miss; and Miss. There are also four runner up prizes, four judge’s choice awards and the people’s choice award which is done as a fundraiser for the pageant with a money vote.
