Still beautiful, inside and out

As one person put it, Amber Marie Seyer is still Oran's favorite daughter.

Seyer didn't win the Miss Teen USA competition in Palm Springs, Calif., but she gave Oran something to cheer about. Many of its residents gathered last week at the Oran Jaycee Hall to watch the pageant that included Seyer, who is Miss Missouri Teen.

The room was described as tense and hopeful as the 15 finalists' names were read. Big whoops went up both times when Seyer could be seen on the TV screen. But when Seyer's name wasn't among the finalists, the room deflated.

Neither Oran, nor Seyer, have anything to be disappointed about. She represented Oran well.

The 17-year-old Seyer is a volleyball and softball player. More importantly, she is an honor-roll student at Oran High School. She already knows the value of family. She lists her inspiration as her uncle, a man who had been killed in an industrial accident.

Seyer said she entered the contest because she thought her uncle would have wanted her to try.

One of her relatives aptly put it this way: "We know how beautiful she is, inside and out."