1995 MISS RIVERFEST, FRANNIE TRUM, SAYS `PRESSURE IS OFF'

What advice would Miss Riverfest 1995 give to this year's group of contestants?

"Just get out there and be yourself," Frannie Trum, 19, the reigning Miss Riverfest said. "Whatever happens is going to happen so just look at everything as a learning experience. No matter if you win or however you do, this helps you grow and helps you become a better person, increases your self-esteem."

Trum's experiences during and after the 1995 Riverfest have all been of the learning kind.

1995 was the first year Trum had attempted the Miss Riverfest pageant, even though she had competed in other events. After she won she wasn't quite prepared for the flurry of action that went with the crown.

"As soon as I won they took me up and we rode around on the trolley and went to different places that were all set up," Trum said. "We went to do interviews on the radio, went down to the paper. We did everything. There's more responsibility with having this crown, too."

Even though 1995 was the first year Trum had entered the Miss Riverfest contest, she said it was the interview, generally regarded as the toughest area of competition, that won the crown for her.

"That's when I actually got to know the judges and that's when they got to know me," she said.

Trum has moved on to the University of Mississippi where she plans to major in business. As far as this year's event is concerned, she'll be a little sad to part with the title of Miss Riverfest, but at least there's no interview session this time.

"The pressure's definitely off," she said. "Passing the crown on to someone else is kind of giving somebody else a chance to be able to have a good experience and a good learning experience, like I did. And they'll meet a lot of different people.

"But I'm excited about it. It's kind of good to be on the other side for a change."