Logansport Pharos-Tribune from Logansport, Indiana • Page 17

Guide Dogs Help Blind Get Around See Page C2 rinccss PITS Carroll graduate and former Logansport resident Jennifer Lowe among 1993 '500 Festival' royalty By SEAN SPENCE Pharos-Tribune Sports Writer Jennifer Lowe rates herself, and it's hard to believe the words falling from her mouth: "I rate myself, I guess, as average in all areas," Lowe says, "I think I'm about average at speaking, about average in school, about average looking." This opinion wanders through the air, looking for someone, to connect with. Who is saying these things? It can't be this girl, this slim, pretty, well- spoken girl. It can't be. Her lips are moving, and the vocal timbre is hers. This is an uncanny imitation, at the least.

Finally, she leans forward to emphasize her final point. "I'm comfortable with that, though, she finishes, brushing her dark-blonde hair away from her face. "In some ways, I guess it's an advantage." The physical evidences the moving mouth, the sound of the voice, the gestures of emphasis are overwhelming. It must be Lowe saying these things. At the very least, she's above-average in modesty.

When May 30 dawns, some half-million people will'begin moving toward Speedway, for the world's largest spectator sporting event the Indianapolis 500. Before the race, 33 girls will be paraded before the roaring smiling and waving from the sunroofs of 33 pace cars. Princesses. Lowe will be one of them. Her family mother Karen Martin, stepfather Mark Martin, father David Lowe, and brothers Mike Lowe and Travis Martin will watch as the Deer Creek girl waves to her 500,000 subjects.

The enterprise began so simply. The 1991 Carroll graduate, now a business student at Indiana University, saw an October advertisement for potential princess candidates in the Indianapolis Star. Along with a few friends, Lowe decided to apply. "When I was younger, I went to the track and I was like, 'How do those girls get there? How do they get to go around the track? What do they do to get involved with she said. "So I thought, what the heck, I have nothing to lose, and I don't even have to tell anyone that I'm doing it." Lowe soon discovered that what those long-ago princesses went through was quite different from what she'd imagined.

To become 1990 Carroll County fair queen, Lowe had modeled three outfits and answered a short question. The 500 Festival selection process was considerably different. "We just came in in business attire, about 200 girls," Lowe said. "It wasn't like a pageant, We just had a long interview, had to answer questions and talk about quite a few topics. That was it.

Then, later, they let us know it." As it turns out, the way princesses'are selected is gradually changing, turning away from the traditional pageant-oriented process toward a scholastic ideal. Included in this change-is an increased investment in scholarships for the princesses. the early years it was strictly a queen pageant program," 500 Festival media representative Amy Wheeler said. "The girls are still judged on beauty, poise and personality, but especially, this year we're trying to make it into a scholarship-type program rather than a pageant," Once selected, the princesses are paired up with 33 who take responsibility for the transportation and feeding of their Festival royalty. The princesses take part in some 20 pre-500 events, usually in public-relations situations.

Originally, the directors selected their princess themselves, but the current system was implemented, in Wheeler's words, "to make it more of a statewide scope, and to bring girls from all around the state Indiana's signature event." Later, a more traditional pageant held in mid- March calls five of the princesses out for special duty the 500 Queen and her court. All then receive an extensive wardrobe, donated by J.C. Penney's, which they are required to wear on a schedule. "Yeah, we all dress alike," Lowe laughed. We have to wear the clothes, which is OK, because I Jennifer Lowe has attended many functions this month as one of the Festival 500 Princesses.

Her final day of duties will be today, when she will be part of the parade around the Speedway oval in one of the Camaro Z-28 pace cars. love the clothes. It's great, getting a whole wardrobe for free, and getting to keep it." Another difference between the 500 princess program and the usual responsibilities of a queen is their relative isolation from the actual race fans. Sitting in a horseshoe-shaped area around the Borg-Warner Trophy, the directors and Festival personnel form a formidable roadblock to any attempts to speak to the princesses. "They're really good to us," Lowe said.

"They would do anything for us. They're constantly concerned if we're comfortable." Wheeler isn't troubled by the girls' isolation. "The point was to bring a community side to the race," she said. "That's the point of the whole festival, really. And the point of the princess program is to make more scholarships available to these bright women." So, You Wanjt To Be A Princess? So you'd like to be one of the 33 princesses? You'd like a free wardrobe, tickets to race-month events, and experience meeting the massed public? The guidelines are fairly simple.

Each princess-candidate must: be between the ages of 18-22, inclusive; be a full-time college student in good standing; and be enrolled in an accredited Indiana university. In addition, a princess candidate's parents must be permanent residents of the state of Indiana. "The rules are designed to make the princess program accessible to young Hoosier women across the state," 500 festival media representative Amy Wheeler said. Each fall, an application form is published in the Indianapolis Star. Fill it out, send it in, and wait for instructions it's that simple.

One last hint when the 500 Festival committee instructs princess-candidates to come dressed in 'business attire, 1 they mean it. 'That's actually part of the process," Wheeler said. We tell them business attire, and some show up in shorts, or in evening gowns. The ones that make it show up dressed professionally." If you don't make it the first time, don't worry about it. As long as you meet the criteria, you can try out again.

"If I hadn't made it this year, 1 wouldn't have been all that upset," Lowe said. "There's always next year. Lots of the girls in it this year had tried it before and not made it." Photos by Jerry.