For Virginia “Gina” Emond, being crowned Ms. Senior Golden Years 2026 is about far more than wearing a crown and sash. It represents healing, community, friendship and an opportunity to continue serving the organizations and people she cares about most.
Emond was crowned during this year’s Ms. Senior Golden Years pageant after several weeks of preparation, interviews and competition alongside four other women. While the title is certainly an honor, she sees it primarily as a chance to become an even stronger advocate for volunteerism and community service throughout Pahrump.
The pageant itself holds special meaning for Emond, who first participated in 2010.
At the time, she had recently lost her husband and admitted she was struggling emotionally. Friends encouraged her to enter the pageant, believing it might help her reconnect with others and find purpose again.
“I agreed to do it with the understanding that if I couldn’t continue, I could drop out,” Emond recalled. “But it turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It took me out of that funk, got me involved again and introduced me to some wonderful people.”
Following that first experience, she insisted she would never compete again, even joking with friends who promised they would all return in ten years.
“I kept saying, ‘No thank you,'” she laughed.
Yet this year, longtime pageant organizer B.J. Hetrick-Irwin asked once again. Although Emond admitted she had been feeling somewhat unsettled this year and initially resisted the idea, she eventually agreed.
Looking back, she’s glad she did.
“I met some really nice ladies, and just going through the process again really helped,” she said. “I had a great time.”
Community service has long been a central part of Emond’s life. While volunteering allows her to give back, she also credits it with helping her stay active and connected after life’s difficult moments.
“I think everybody has to find their thing,” she said. “Volunteering is mine.”
Today, Emond dedicates countless hours to local organizations, including Soroptimist International of Pahrump Valley, Kiwanas, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the Pahrump Holiday Task Force and the Salvation Army. She is also well known throughout the community as one of the familiar faces ringing bells for the Salvation Army during the holiday season.
When it came time to select a platform for the pageant, she initially worried she already had too many commitments.
“B.J. told me, ‘Just do your volunteer work,'” Emond said.
That advice led her to focus on supporting the Salvation Army and local food banks during her year as Ms. Senior Golden Years.
Her goal is to expand community food drives and help organize two or three additional donation campaigns while continuing her annual bell-ringing efforts.
“I think the food banks are where the need is,” she said. “That’s where I want to focus.”
Preparing for the pageant required much more than simply appearing on stage.
Contestants spent nearly two months attending rehearsals, learning choreography for the opening production number, practicing stage presence, participating in interviews with judges and preparing for several portions of the competition, including evening gown, swimsuit and talent.
“It really is a process,” Emond said. “You spend a lot of time together getting to know everyone.”
She laughed while recalling one of the pageant’s lighter moments.
Contestants were instructed not to wave to the audience during their individual walks across the stage.
“I think every one of us waved anyway,” she said with a smile. “We were all nervous. We were waving and blowing kisses. Afterwards they told us none of us were supposed to do that.”
Her talent performance featured a lively jazz-style dance routine to a fun, sassy song that she selected after spending hours searching for just the right performance piece.
Unfortunately, preparations came while she was dealing with significant knee pain that would eventually require surgery.
“I just did the best I could,” she said. “It was a fun, quirky routine, and that’s what I enjoyed about it.”
The pageant itself is a full-day commitment, beginning around 8 a.m. and lasting until approximately 9 p.m. Contestants spend much of that time backstage preparing and waiting together, creating friendships that often continue well beyond the competition.
While only one woman receives the crown, Emond says she views every contestant as part of the court.
“Normally there’s the queen and the first and second runners-up,” she said. “But with only five of us, to me, we’re all on board. They’re all wonderful ladies.”
Now serving as Ms. Senior Golden Years, Emond joins fellow court members in representing Pahrump at community events, ribbon cuttings, grand openings and other public celebrations. She considers the title an ambassador role, helping welcome visitors while supporting local organizations whenever needed.
One of her first appearances will include attending the reopening celebration for the Pahrump Tourism office, with many more community events already scheduled throughout the coming year.
She also remains active with the Silver Tappers and continues serving as secretary of the Pahrump Holiday Task Force, where she helps organize the Fourth of July parade and events, as well as both Thanksgiving and Christmas meal events.
Although her schedule was already full before winning the title, Emond says the crown simply becomes another part of her volunteer work.
“The only difference now is I’m supposed to carry the crown and sash everywhere,” she joked.
Behind the humor, however, Emond takes the responsibility seriously.
She hopes the recognition will make it easier to approach businesses and community members when seeking support for local fundraisers and charitable projects.
“I’m always asking people to help with fundraisers,” she said. “I’m hoping maybe this opens a few more doors and encourages people to support the organizations that need it.”
Emond says being chosen as Ms. Senior Golden Years is both humbling and motivating.
“It really is an honor to have been selected as Ms. Sr. Golden Year,” she said. “I have some tall shoes to fill, and will do my best to live up to that honor. As ambassadors, it’s wonderful to be able to have the opportunity to work with the community and inspire ways in which we can help each other become stronger, inspiring camaraderie, regardless of faith, nationality, political beliefs and economic standing. After all, our nation could use a lot more love and care for one another.”
For Emond, wearing the crown is about much more than recognition.
“I think it’s a very prestigious honor,” she said. “It has to be respected. It comes with responsibility.”
As she begins her year representing Pahrump, Emond hopes to use that responsibility to continue doing what she has already spent years doing—bringing people together to support one another and strengthening the community she proudly calls home.
