We would like to take a moment to commend the efforts of Teresa Dunaway and everyone who helped her organize the inaugural Rainbow of Ribbons pageant that was held Feb. 9 at Randolph-Henry High School.

As we reported last week, the first-ever pageant was put together to support the Barksdale Cancer Foundation, a Charlotte Court House-based nonprofit that provides support for cancer patients in the area.

As stated on the organization’s website, “The Barksdale Cancer Foundation was founded in 1999 after the Barksdale family from Phenix, VA lost three family members in a four-year period to cancer. Seeing the suffering and anguish experienced during these trying years, the family decided it would like to memorialize their loved ones and at the same time help others in Charlotte County, VA who were suffering due to the same illness.”

The site also notes that to date, the Barksdale Cancer Foundation has given out more than 200 grants totaling more than $125,000 to patients in Charlotte County.

The pageant helped the foundation in its efforts by raising more than $6,000 in donations.

It puts a smile on our faces to know that the pageant enjoyed such a strong showing of support from the community, both in attendance and in participation. There were approximately 50 contestants.

We appreciate how the pageant involved contestants from so many different age groups, too: teen miss, junior miss, miss, little miss and tiny miss. Dunaway and other organizers, already preparing for next year’s pageant, plan to add a Baby Miss category for participants ages 2 and younger.

We praise Dunaway, other organizers and the people of Charlotte County for coming together to strengthen the community by making a success out of a fun, uplifting event that raised money for an area foundation that supports those suffering from cancer.