'Wheelbillies' dress up for cancer fundraiser

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.