'Wheelbillies' dress up for cancer fundraiser

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By Jaime Welsh

2008 Miss Wheelbilly Spencer Neeley, right, assists his father, 2009 winner Kim Neeley, with his donation collections Saturday night at the Miss Wheelbilly pageant.
(T-G Photo by Jaime Welsh) [Order this photo]

Cindi Lauper once sang, "Girls just want to have fu-un ..."

Well, a few local men and boys were no exception as they donned high heels and lipstick to raise money for a good cause Saturday night.

The Wheelbilly's of Bedford County Miss Wheelbilly Pageant, held at Liberty School, raised funds for the Relay For Life Cancer Walk of Bedford County.

There was standing room only, as several dozen locals turned out to cheer on their favorite Miss Wheelbilly contestant when each strutted their stuff on the stage.

The winner was determined by who raised the most money.

Lane Casson was crowned as Junior Miss Wheelbilly of 2009 and Kim Neeley was crowned Miss Wheelbilly 2009.

This was the third year for the pageant, which was again held at Liberty School.

"You'd have had to been there to see it, it's so funny," said volunteer Carol Spray. "Each year gets better, and this year they added the Junior Miss, which added more contestants so they could raise more money."

2008 Miss Wheelbilly "Sassy Sugar" assisted with collecting money as each model took the stage. Wendy Stacy of American Cancer Society's Relay For Life was also in attendence.

The following competed for the title of Miss Wheelbilly 2009: Jr. Miss Wheelbilly -- Lane Casson, Dakota Marshall, Brian Young, and Eli Nave; Miss Wheelbilly -- Travis Arnold, Drew Hill, Trevor Arnold, Mickey Casson, Kim Neeley, Gene Ray, Anthony Bowling, Aaron Jarrell, Gary Calvert, Heath Nave, Steven Daugherty, Tyler Ray, Jamie Bates, Kevin Jones, Wallace Metcalf, Jimmy Jarrell, Michael Harrell, and Billy Chunn.

About $3,000 was raised for the Relay For Life Cancer Walk of Bedford County.

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on t-g.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Spencer makes a really pretty girl :>)

-- Posted by Dianatn on Tue, Mar 17, 2009, at 9:41 AM

Thank you Diana............I always wondered what my daughter would have looked like with black hair!! I also appreciate all the support shown by the community for this event and their generosity!! The guys who are willing to compete year after year are great sports about it!! I don't know which day it will be in the T-G (hopefully today) but there will be a full color page so you can see all the "beauties"!! Thanks T-G for the great coverage!!

The Wheelbilly's Relay Team!

Diane Neeley, Melanie Casson, Misty McCormick, Suzanne Newsom, Ronnie and Linda Wells, Teresa Crosslin, Carol Spray, Mary Cook, Susan Clanton, Keith Smith, Jo Jo Hill, Julie Farris, Beverly Whitehead and Becky Davis

-- Posted by Mama D on Tue, Mar 17, 2009, at 9:56 AM

You did have to be there to see it and if you weren't you missed a great show and a lot of laughs. These guys are great to do this every year and great sports. We should really appreciate them for going all out for a good cause. Bravo guys and the Wheelbilly team.

-- Posted by Thatsmystory on Tue, Mar 17, 2009, at 1:29 PM

Oh how proud I am that Naughty Nellie won this year. With her bigger boobs and the dress that brought the "ANIMAL " out in her.

So glad to see these men do such a great job in supporting a great cause.

Keep up the good work....

-- Posted by Wheelbillie on Wed, Mar 18, 2009, at 3:01 AM