Miss Wantagh 60th Anniversary

A fond memory for past winners

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Although Kelley Garland, 22, and Brenda Sand, 52, lead very different lives, they have one thing in common. Both were crowned Miss Wantagh. 

With the 60th anniversary of the Miss Wantagh pageant fast approaching, Garland and Sand dipped into their memories of winning the title and remarked on how the tradition of the pageant continues to live on.

“I never thought in a million years that I would be awarded Miss Wantagh,” Sand said.

It was 1980, and Sand was only 16 and a sophomore at Wantagh High School. Becoming Miss Wantagh was not something she strived for — at first. After her friends pushed her into competing, insisting it would be a rewarding experience and that she was qualified, she decided to go for it. 

“Once I realized the significance of Miss Wantagh, I really got into it,” Sand said. “It was more about being a community member and less about who someone is on the outside.”

The pageant, held at the Wantagh Public Library, included several interview questions, and although she said she doesn’t remember being prepped for it, she showed up to the library in her gown and heels and gave it her best shot. 

And it worked. Sand was named the 24th Miss Wantagh following the annual Fourth of July parade a few days later. She was in complete shock as she and the Miss Wantagh Court, no more than 10 high school girls, walked down Wantagh Avenue in their colorful ball gowns. Among all the bright and beautiful contestants, she said, she didn’t expect to win. She believed any one of them deserved the honor.

“I’ll never forget that moment, and the fear and nerves I had while speaking,” Sand added.

Sand was active at Wantagh High and in her community, especially in the music department. She played violin, took piano lessons, participated in NYSSMA festivals and was captain of the kick-line team. She was also a Girl Scout, through which she took on various service projects. Community, Sand said, was always important to her.

“Those experiences traveled with me and gave me more self confidence,” she said.

Sand has since earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Binghamton University and a master’s in business administration from Hofstra, and now lives in Bellmore. In the past, she has held jobs in financial services, publishing and home care. She is now a manager of employer relations and compensation for Visiting Nurse Service in Manhattan, where she has worked for 11 years. 

“I do a lot of public speaking and training,” she said. “Having those on-the-spot interviews when I was 16 really sharpened my skills.”

Sand now describes herself as a forthright, driven person, doing everything to the “hundredth degree.” She gets up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym before her commute to work. “I work hard and play hard,” she said. “That’s my motto.”

The Miss Wantagh Pageant also strengthened her pride in the community. She still visits Wantagh’s gyms, shops and restaurants. “I’m in the neighborhood constantly,” she said. “It’s home to me.”

Sand’s husband, Larry, proposed to her at Wantagh Park 28 years ago. They now have three daughters: twins, Dara and Samantha, 24, and Nicole, 18, who is graduating from high school this year.

“No other town does anything like this,” Sand said of the Miss Wantagh Pageant. “There’s something so unique about the town’s camaraderie. Many people graduate, come back and never leave.”

She described the pageant a unique way for young girls to build confidence, and she is pleased that Wantagh continues to offer this great opportunity, even after 60 years. “Win or lose, anyone running should feel really good about themselves,” she said. “It’s a great way to serve our community.”


Crowned three decades later

Fast-forward 30 years, and Kelley Garland was sharing a “fun fact” in her college classes that she was named Miss Wantagh. “People would usually laugh about it,” she said. “But then I remembered how much service I did, and knew that it wasn’t just an average pageant.” 

Garland was crowned in 2010, when she was a Wantagh High junior. She later used her experience as Miss Wantagh to help her succeed at Providence College, where she majored in global studies — and graduated last month.

“Miss Wantagh really was a platform for me to get involved with the community and work on my public speaking skills,” she said. “When I got to college I was able to embrace it, just like Wantagh.”

At Providence, Garland got involved with Student Congress and was elected class president in both her junior and senior year, which, she said, helped her leave her mark at the school.

“It automatically reflects back on Miss Wantagh, because it’s exactly what our coordinator, Ella Stevens, was always pushing,” Garland said. “We were the face of Wantagh, and a lot of the involvement we took part in led me to this.” 

After four years at Providence, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in the Czech Republic for 10 months. She had studied there before, and knew she would return someday. She departs on Aug. 19, but not before she returns to the pageant where it all began. 

“At the end of the day — and I know it sounds cliché — it doesn’t matter if you get the title,” Garland said. “It matters what you do with what you’re given.”

Garland plans to relax and enjoy her “one last summer before entering the real world,” and to help out with the pageant. “It’s so nice to see this tradition continuously move forward,” she added. “The parade is also something I’ve grown up with.”

Garland, along with Miss Wantaghs from various years as well as elected officials, will attend the pageant on July 1 at Wantagh High. Starting at 7 p.m., it will introduce seven girls who are competing for the title. The winner will be announced at the Fourth of July parade, on the steps of Wantagh Elementary School.

“Wantagh is a wonderful town, and these traditions have continued to thrive for 60 years because our town believes in encouraging and supporting our youth to be involved in the community,” pageant coordinator Ella Stevens said. “We look forward to the next 60 years for this tradition to continue, so that future generations can also take pride in this town.”