April 18, 2004 – The first V.I. Carnival senior queen was crowned Saturday night before a modest crowd at Lionel Roberts Stadium. But the selection of Joan Doss as Ms. VI American Classic was not the only history-making event of the night.
Billie Mayo, the 2003 reigning senior queen, chosen last year in a pageant that was not part of Carnival, also became the first V.I. contestant to win the national American Classic pageant, last November. She gave up the local crown on Saturday but kept the national one — giving the territory two reigning seniors to call their own.
Doss won her title in a two-hour contest featuring three contestants. She also was named most photogenic and placed first in the modeling of casual wear and evening wear.
Inez Cruz, a crowd favorite, was the judges' favorite for talent and congeniality.
Clarissa Battiste said she, too, was satisfied to have taken part in the show. All three contestants urged other seniors to drop their inhibitions and sign up to compete next year. The competition is open to women age 60 and older.
Doss, whose evening gown was a form-fitting black number with a plunging neckline crusted with sparkling crystals, said after being named the winner that she had never been in a pageant before. "I have been having fun, and that's what it's been all about," she said. "It was like, if I win, wonderful! If I don't, hey, I've had a blast!"
She expressed her admiration for her fellow contestants, especially Cruz, who also had vied for the title in 1999. "This lady, Miss Inez Cruz, I want to grow up to be like her. She is such an elegant woman," Doss said.
Organizer Cheryl Plaskett said this year's show was a continuation of the senior classic pageants of the past. The last one was held in June 2003 at Charlotte Amalie High School, where Mayo was the winner.
Plaskett said moving the event from an auditorium to the open-air stadium involved adapting the movements of the contestants to a larger stage. As an official part of V.I. Carnival, Saturday's show was sponsored by the V.I. Carnival Committee.
The audience, modest by stadium show standards, numbered about 300, many of them adult children, grandchildren, other family members, neighbors and friends of the contestants.
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