By Mimi Darley Dutton | [email protected]

Draper City Hall has been closed to the public since March due to coronavirus, but its doors briefly opened June 16 to receive royalty. That evening, the mayor and city council members were introduced to the new Miss Draper and her two attendants, selected for their excellence in service, education, leadership and refinement. Anna Petersen spoke about her experiences and shared a slide show from her year in service to the community as Miss Draper 2019.

Mandi Brady, a former Miss Draper herself, serves as volunteer chairperson for the organization. Brady has revised it in recent years to not be a standard pageant process, but a scholarship program involving a job application, an essay and a resume, an interview and a defined service project for those who apply. “It’s an outstanding program and she’s got great vision,” Mayor Troy Walker said of Brady and her efforts.

Elle Stoker was crowned Miss Draper 2020. She graduated with honors from Corner Canyon High School (CCHS) in 2020 and served as Youth Mayor for the Draper City Mayor’s Youth Council. She also participated as an American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation Senator in Washington, D.C. and a Utah Association of Student Councils national representative. Stoker is the daughter of Anika Hoybjerg. Her initiative as Miss Draper will be “Amplifying the Small Voices” with a focus on children’s rights in abusive situations, providing them with an outlet to receive help. To that end, she founded the nonprofit The Children’s Voice Foundation to support that cause. Stoker will attend Brigham Young University in the fall. “This is so exciting,” she said to her attendants immediately following the crowning ceremony. Stoker was awarded a $5,000 scholarship.

Cece Burridge was selected First Attendant. A 2020 graduate of CCHS, Burridge was the Sterling Scholar for Business and Marketing, DECA president and the Junior Women in Business representative for the South Valley Chamber of Commerce. She is the daughter of Marissa and Christian Burridge. As First Attendant, she was awarded a $2,000 scholarship. She will attend Utah State University in the fall. Brady called Burridge a “gifted leader.” 

Madison Gastelo was selected Second Attendant. Already a student at the University of Utah, she is majoring in kinesiology as a premed student with hopes of becoming an oncologist. She finished her sophomore semester on the dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA. Gastelo enjoys working with older adults and she participates with Meals on Wheels on a weekly basis. The daughter of George and Janna Gastelo, she was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Anna Petersen, Miss Draper 2019, just finished her freshman year at BYU after graduating as valedictorian from CCHS in 2019. Her platform this past year was breast cancer awareness for women of all ages. Because of the pandemic, she began her year as Miss Draper with parades and community events and ended it with Zoom presentations and community outreach via social media. Petersen said that, of all the events she participated in, Draper Days and the Heritage Dinner were her favorites, “Because I got to talk to some of the older citizens about their memories,” she said.