'Miss Iberville' crowned at Plaquemine Service League Sugar Cane Tea
Monica Claire Rivet was crowned “Miss Iberville 2017” at the annual Sugar Cane Tea hosted by the Plaquemine Service League at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Migliacio of White Castle on Saturday, June 10, 2017
Everyone enjoyed the hospitality of the Plaquemine Service League members among the fresh garden arrangements and roses adorning the Migliacio home. The roses and flowers were contributed by League members who also prepared a delicious assortment of hors d’oeuvres including sandwiches, fresh fruit, cheeses, sweets and lemonade served during the tea.
Four young ladies competed for the honor of representing Iberville Parish as “Miss Iberville” at the annual Louisiana Sugar Cane Fair & Festival held in New Iberia beginning on Thursday, September 21 through Sunday, September 24, 2017. Several Louisiana parish queens will compete for the coveted title of “Queen Sugar.” Contestants and their mothers applauded as Madeline Kirby, “Miss Iberville 2016,” presented a bouquet of roses and crowned the new queen, Monica Claire Rivet, “Miss Iberville Parish 2017.”
First maid and “Iberville’s Sweet,” was Kameryn Oubre. The queen and maid were presented roses and banners made by Service League members.
“Miss Iberville Parish 2017” Monica Rivet will participate in and attend many festival events beginning the afternoon of Friday, September 22 and continue through Sunday, September 24. “Queen Sugar” will be chosen by a panel of judges for her personality, beauty, poise and intelligence from among the sugar producing parishes that participate. Parish sugar queens and their “sweets” will reign over the festivities with “King Sucrose” and represent the sugar industry throughout the year. The festivities will culminate Saturday night with the pageant, coronation and ball. On Sunday, all parish queens will ride in the “Sugar Growers and Their Royalty” parade with the newly crowned “Queen Sugar” and “King Sucrose” proudly reigning over Sugarland.
“Miss Iberville,” Monica Claire Rivet, is the 18-year-old daughter of Brent and Debbie Rivet of Rosedale. Monica graduated from St. John High School and plans to attend Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in the fall. She has traveled to Washington, D.C. twice and was an essay/trip winner as well as touring New York City and Costa Rica where she toured coffee, chocolate and sugar cane plantations. She was on the 2016 Flood Relief team and volunteers for St. Joseph Church in Grosse Tete as well as St. John the Evangelist’s Vacation Bible School. She enjoys creative drawing, softball, volleyball, traveling, shopping, exercising, swimming, cooking, photography and spending time with her family and friends.
First Maid, “Iberville’s Sweet,” Kameryn Oubre, is the 19 year-old-daughter of Martisa Henderson and Carlton and Kedra Vessel of Plaquemine. She is a graduate of Plaquemine High School and currently attends Baton Rouge Community College where she is working towards her degree in nursing. She hopes to be a pediatric nurse and continue her education to earn her doctorate degree. Kameryn was a member of the PHS Beta Club for two years and also a 4-H and PHS Pep Squad member. Over the years, she has helped feed the homeless and has volunteered her time working on a Habitat for Humanity home. She enjoys reading, writing, shopping and spending time with friends and family. Kameryn will attend the festival in New Iberia with Monica. Other contestants in this year’s program included Kamri Gray and Shakira Smith.
Judges for the 2017 tea were: Petty Pollet, Elizabeth Minvielle and Renee Buchanon. Petty graduated from Nicholls State University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in business. She just recently launched her new business, LuLaRoe, as an Independent Fashion Consultant. Petty was “Miss St. James 1979” and currently serves as director of the Little Miss St. James Fall Pageant. She is a board member, secretary and pageant director for the LA Sugar Cane Fair & Festival Association. She is also a committee member of the Festival of the Bonfires pageant. Petty judges pageants throughout the state on the local, parish and state levels. She currently resides in Grand Point in St. James parish with her husband, Peter. Together they have three children and nine grandchildren.
Elizabeth Minvielle was born, raised and resides in Iberia Parish. She is married to Leonard Minvielle, a sugar cane farmer, and they are the parents of three college-age sons. Elizabeth is the Vice President of the Employee Benefits department of Brown & Brown Insurance. She is a past Ms. Louisiana and also sits on the board of the LA Sugar Cane Fair & Festival Association.
Renee Buchanon graduated from Nicholls State University with a degree in government. She has been involved in the pageant industry since the age of five and is the co-director of Miss and Teen St. James Parish and director of Miss and Teen St. James Relay for Life pageant. Renee is currently Lady Butterfly Representative for the Festival of Charities. She is employed by Enlink Midstream as a liquid measurement analyst and is also a wedding coordinator and decorator, set designer, runs her own makeup business, Limelight by Alcone, along with her most recent venture of co-owning a LuLaRoe Boutique with her mother. She is married to Daryl Buchanon and they are the parents of four children.
Miss Nealy LeBlanc, Sugar Cane Tea Chairman for the Plaquemine Service League, organized and coordinated the contest together with her assistants, Tabitha Rowen, Ann Couch and Jacquelyn Savoia, along with LA Sugar Cane Fair & Festival Association Iberville Parish Director, Madeline Kessler. The “Miss Iberville” contest would not be possible without the volunteer support of the Plaquemine Service League and the funds generated by the Andrew P. Gay family through generous contributions from local sugar cane growers, Cora Texas Sugar Mill, Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso and the Iberville Parish Council as well as local businesses and industries.
