WEST SPRINGFIELD – A tall tiara sparkled atop the caramel colored hair of West Springfield native Tina Wood after she was crowned the 2018 Senior Colleen on Jan. 20.

Seven women from West Side competed for the title in the fifth annual Senior Colleen pageant, hosted by the St. Patrick’s Committee of West Springfield at the Dante Club.

The senior pageant is an offshoot of the traditional Colleen Pageant, which is an opportunity for young women of Irish heritage to compete for a spot to ride on a float in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day parade. Senior Chair of the Senior Colleen Pageant Arlene Collins said the event is a unique way to raise money for the Committee, which is an association that strives to promote the history of Irish culture.

“This started as a ‘fun-raiser’ because we just wanted to have fun,” she said. “It’s just a way to raise a little bit of extra money. We didn’t know if this would fly, so when we first started we had our own committee members be the contestants just to get us going.”

The Committee builds award-winning floats that are showcased in the parade, Collins said, and also honors residents that have “helped enhance the town or committee.”

Contestants for the senior pageant must be 55-years or older and be either native to West Springfield or current residents. A majority of the contestants generally have Irish heritage.

The women are judged based on how they walk, their poise, personality, background and how they answer a number of questions – which include trivia questions on both Irish history and West Springfield history, as well as a few “yes or no” questions.  At the end of the pageant, the women have a final question that is based off of their personal bios.

“My favorite part of the night is the trivia and watching the audience see if they can answer questions,” said Collins. “The West Springfield questions are really interesting, and it’s funny to see people of all ages try and remember some of the answers.”

Although the trivia is a crowd-interactive event, the audience is not allowed to shout out the answers.

This year’s pageant was hosted by West Springfield At-Large City Councilor Sean Powers and former city councilor Bridget Fiala. The judges were Nicole Stevenson of Springfield, Amber Gould of Springfield and Katie Glenn of Holyoke.

Mayor William Reichelt made a guest appearance as he escorted last year’s Senior Colleen, Wendy Ward, to open the pageant.

After the hosts took turns introducing each contestant with a reading of their accomplishments, the trivia began. Some of the trivia questions included, “The Irish are said to have brought which breakfast to America?” and “Who was the West Springfield Town Hall named after?”

Each woman was then judged for her poise and her answer to several yes or no questions.

Wood was later crowned the 2018 Senior Colleen.

“I feel overwhelmed and absolutely shocked,” said Wood. “As soon as they said my number I couldn’t believe it was me. I never expected that because there were a lot of other wonderful people in this competition. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”  

Wood is a native of West Springfield, and is married. She said she enjoys motorcycling, boating, camping and is a board of trustees member at the Springfield Boys & Girls Club. She owns her own business with three of her partners.

The new Senior Colleen will don her tiara and a Kelly green cape while riding in a convertible in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on March 18.

“I’ll be looking forward to participating in as much as I can,” she said. “I’m so proud of our town and our community, and I’m proud to be a member. I call it ‘West Side Pride’ and I love being from this town.”