A Christmas message from the UK Galaxy Team - a little look at our amazing year!

A Christmas message from UK Galaxy Pageants!

Well, where to start?! What a year it has been for UK Galaxy Pageants!

With 2010 quickly approaching, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last year and all of the amazing achievements and memories that has come with it….

In March 2009, the first ever Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy-UK contests were held at The Thistle Hotel, Manchester. ALL of the contestants were truly amazing – they were fantastic company and a pleasure to work with. In our eyes, every single one of them was a winner. We would like to thank all of the girls for being such an incredible group of contestants; the show would not have been such a success had it not been for them. However, it was Emma McInnes (Miss Teen Dundee Galaxy 2009) and Hayley Mac (Miss Essex Galaxy 2009) who walked away with the crowns and titles of Miss Teen and Miss Galaxy-UK. We think it is true to say that, from that day on, Hayley’s and Emma’s lives changed forever.

Emma and Hayley have been the most amazing queens we could have ever hoped for. They both took America by storm when they competed in Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy International and wowed everyone with their inner and outer beauty - both girls won the award for best in interview, proving they are definitely more than just a pretty face.

The UK girls won not one but BOTH of the Galaxy International crowns, meaning that Hayley and Emma are now Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy International. This victory led to the UK being labelled as the ‘Powerhouse of Galaxy 2009!’ – something that we would love to continue in 2010 and beyond! And it has to be said that Emma, Miss Teen Galaxy International, definitely wins the award for most emotional crowning at a beauty pageant - ever!

Since winning Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy-UK and International, Hayley and Emma have enjoyed rubbing shoulders with many celebrities…. Including Stavros Flatley, Calum Best, Cherie Blair, Linford Christie, Beverley Knight, Matt Willis (Busted), Diversity, Tinchy Stryder and more!!!

Many girls and young women would win their crowns & prizes and leave it at that… but not Hayley and Emma! They are two of the most inspirational young women you could ever meet and both have been determined to use their crowns & titles to help others.

Emma has worked for a number of charities and local causes, most notably Rachel House Children’s Hospice. Emma has loved visiting the children at the hospice and brightening up their day, rumour has it that she will also be paying the hospice a special Christmas visit!

Emma has also supported anti-bullying campaigns, as she knows how relevant and important this issue is to many teens and young children. As a result, Emma featured in the national media - including a double page spread in Shout magazine!

When Emma won the title of Miss Teen Galaxy International, the press went wild! This wasn’t surprising, as Emma is the first Scottish girl to win an international pageant in at least fifteen years! Consequently, Emma featured in nearly every national newspaper in Scotland, including The Sun.

Since winning Miss Teen Galaxy International, Emma has proven that she a star in the making. Emma has landed some fantastic modelling jobs and has worked for the designer De-wson and Designer Desirables. But it doesn’t stop there! Emma has also recently started presenting with The Scottish Wedding Channel! With bags of confidence and a fantastic personality, Emma has proved that she is a natural in front of the television cameras too.

Most recently, Emma has been using her title to help spread the Christmas Spirit. Emma turned on the Christmas lights in St Andrews and also made a visit to see some lucky children at the Town Hall!

Along with Emma, Hayley has enjoyed a whirlwind of a year! Since winning Miss Galaxy-UK and International, Hayley has worked tirelessly for causes close to her heart.

Much of Hayley’s time has been dedicated to supporting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq; she recognises the amazing work they do for our country and in turn, has volunteered her time to help the Help for Heroes charity. Most recently, Hayley was invited to visit Headley Court, a rehabilitation centre for the British Armed Forces. Hayley visited the centre on two occasions to help boost morale – and even had Christmas dinner there! Hayley was felt honoured and privileged to visit Headley Court; she has explained that the visits were real eye-openers and at times, quite emotional but this has served to boost her support for our troops.

However, Help for Heroes is not the only charity to benefit from Hayley’s help and support. Hayley has worked closely with a number of charities, most notably Richard House and Little Haven’s Children’s Hospices. Hayley has made numerous visits to the hospices and has loved helping them with their different fundraising activities. From leading the choir over Christmas with Little Havens to launching Richard House’s ‘Dribblethon’ fundraising campaign!

Hayley has also worked closely with events and causes within her local community. Some of the many appearances she has made include: opening the new Dress to Dance shop, launching the Poppy Appeal in Essex, attending the Butterfly Ball for Cauldwell Children’s Hospice, supporting the Animal Welfare Charity, judging Essex’s Got Talent, attending Bobby Davro’s Charity Golf Day, turning on Basildon’s Christmas Lights, taking part in a Santa Run for Leukaemia Care, playing the role of Snow Queen in the Winter Festival at Ranelagh Primary School and much more!!!

The UK Galaxy Team really do not know how Emma and Hayley find so many hours in a day - We are so proud that they make the effort to dedicate so much of their time to help others!

Having had such a fantastic year, we anticipate that next year will be even bigger and better! The 2010 grand finals of Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy-UK are set to be very glamorous events, being held at DeVere’s Daresbury Park, Cheshire – we can’t wait to see you there! The 2010 contestants are already making appearances across the UK helping causes close to their hearts, something, which we are very proud of.

The appearances and causes that our current queens and contestants are involved in truly prove that UK Galaxy Pageants are about more than just a crown; the girls and young women who are involved in the UK Galaxy contests are inspirational and determined to make a difference in other people’s lives.

We’d like to take this moment to thank Emma and Hayley for being truly fantastic winners. They are fantastic role models and have used their titles in ways that have made us proud beyond belief. They have achieved more this year than even they could have dreamt of but no-one deserves it more than these two young women. We can only hope that our 2010 queens will be half as good, contestants take note – you have big shoes to fill!

We cannot wait to meet the 2010 finalists; we can already tell that you are a fantastic group of girls!

Thank you again to everyone who has continued to support Miss and Miss Teen Galaxy-UK. We hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas and best wishes for 2010.

The UK Galaxy Team