Queen-Little Miss Spat competitions are continuing Five Urbanna Oyster Festival duos still vying for scholarship money
(Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series.) Part 1
Oyster Festival Queen Contestant Madeline Hurd, and her Little Miss Spat co-contestant, Madison Cole, had a busy and greatly rewarding summer volunteering, organizing and conducting fundraisers to support their project, Homeward Bound. Their project benefitted Middlesex Pet Friends for Life, a booster for the Middlesex County Animal Shelter. Madeline and Madison both love animals and recognized the need for abandoned and mistreated cats and dogs to find safety, and eventually their forever homes. Both have recently adopted pets that were in great need.
Their project involved extensive volunteering at the Middlesex County Animal Shelter. Madeline volunteered more than 100 hours at the shelter by training, walking and spending time with the dogs. In total, she spent 215 hours on the project. Most importantly, Madeline promoted the adoption of animals through her social media and networking and the shelter oversaw the adoption of 17 dogs during her time there.
The contestant also collected more than 400 pounds of dog food and collected needed treats and toys for the animals during the two food drives they conducted in Urbanna and Deltaville.
Madeline and Madison raised just more than $8,000 for the shelter, which will provide necessities such as medical treatment, medicine, food and living expenses for the animals sheltered there. This is very important during the pandemic, since no other fundraisers are being initiated this year. A substantial part of the money raised was due to the contestants’ work at the Deltaville Ballpark for the Deltas’ games, where they operated the concession stand every Saturday evening. Other fundraisers included a bake sale and direct donations.
The contestants were exceptionally pleased at the overwhelming community support and of the relationships that they built accomplishing this common goal. Madeline said, “I was so pleased at the outpouring of community support that people showed towards my project. Volunteers from the shelter passionately assisted me every step of the way, donating treats for my bake sale and dog food for my drives. I owe a great deal of my success to them, and to all the people in Middlesex County who showed that they care about these animals as much as I do.”
Madeline and Madison developed a strong bond during the project and Madeline said that she felt a high priority to teach her spat empathy, respect, and the responsibility to help others and animals in need.
Madeline has been very active in both Middlesex High School and the community. She is a current member of the Middlesex High School tennis team, scholastic bowl team and forensics team. On the forensics team, Madeline won first place at the Super Regionals in her division and was on her way to the state competition when it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Madeline also was a member of the Middlesex High School color guard team and the Deltaville Sharks swim team. Hurd enjoys theatre and has acted in all of the high school plays and also volunteered with the Lancaster Players helping them as a stage manager. Madeline is a cashier at Hurd’s Hardware, a Deltaville store her almost 104-year-old grandfather founded. She plans to attend college and major in Political Science. Madeline is the daughter of Mike and Beth Hurd of Deltaville, and the granddaughter of Norton and Alvine Hurd. She has a younger brother, Carter Hurd.
Madeline’s Little Miss Spat contestant, Madison Cole, is a first grade student at Middlesex Elementary School. She is the daughter of Brooke Cole of Hartfield. Madison performs gymnastics with the Middlesex Gymnastics Center, and T-ball with the youth league. This year she will be a part of the school’s LEAP program, an advanced enrichment program for gifted children. She enjoys swimming and playing with her younger brother, Grayson Cole, and her many pets.
