Kelsey Dewar of Monkton has been crowned the winner of this year’s 33rd annual Paddyfest Ambassador competition.
Seventeen-year-old Dewar was among the four contestants who vied for the title at the competition held at the Listowel Evangelical Church on Saturday, March 6, along with Kelsey Espensen, Amanda MacCannell and Nicole Nunn. Each contestant was judged on a variety of criteria: prepared speeches, talent and impromptu questions. Espensen gave her speech first, on the experience of working at Camp Kintail as a summer counsellor, where she plans to return this year. Dewar’s speech recalled all the important life lessons that we learned in kindergarten, but have since forgotten about.
“I just thought about talking on world events and how we could maybe fix them,” she said.
Nunn’s topic on women in skilled trades and MacCannell’s subject of Free the Children wrapped up the speech portion of the competition, moving on to the talent performances. Dewar opened with a dramatic monologue from the perspective of a young cancer patient.
“I don’t really have much else,” she said. “I can’t sing and I can’t dance, so I thought it would be acting or nothing.”

             See Kelsey Dewar, page 2

Two contestants had prepared videos for the competition, with Nunn’s featuring her love of riding horses, and Espensen’s clay-mation video of Mr. Paddy accompanied by a soundtrack played by her on piano won her the talent award. MacCannell performed an original dance for her talent.
Nunn was the first selected to answer the impromptu question from emcee Matt Richardson, answering the question of overcoming fears and relating back to her own experience of being thrown from her horse and hesitating to get back in the saddle. MacCannell listed organization, strong-will and determination as three qualities to effectively manage other people, and Espensen said that if she were Prime Minister for a day, she would encourage people to be respectful and address the poverty issue. Dewar was questioned about what the country can do to be more environmentally friendly, to which she replied there could be more done to support green sources of energy.
Following the judging by J.C. Coutts, Laura Chambers and Michelle Jedrzejewski, MacCannell was announced as the congeniality award, and also the first runner-up. Dewar expressed a look of surprise when she was awarded the Paddyfest title.
“There were so many great girls in it, and I didn’t know who was going to win,” Dewar said. “When I won, I was just shocked.”
Dewar said she looks forward to being a part of Paddyfest, and would recommend the experience to anyone else considering it next year.
“It’s pretty nerve-wracking, but it’s a great confidence builder to go in, and you feel great during it,” she said.
Outgoing 2009 ambassador Amber Allen said she has mixed emotions about passing the crown, but was glad to see Dewar.
“It’s sad, but it’s also happy,” Allen said. “We were childhood best friends so I know she’ll do a great job.”