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At that time, Bogren joked she was “in training to be Joya.”

Consider her training complete.

This year, Borgren has taken over as director of the local event, which is a full-blown production show.

“Joya (Santarelli) asked me to take it over, and I agreed,” said Bogren who, when we met last week, was battling a cold (not uncommon for a second grade teacher at this time of year).

“I just couldn’t let the pageant fade away,” Bogren said. “I want to uphold the dignity and tradition of the event. I can’t replace Joya, but I will do my best to carry on her legacy.”

Lucky for Bogren, the Kenosha competition has a sterling reputation.

“It’s the best pageant in the state,” she said. “It’s a friendly competition with a lot of support for all the candidates. Joya always helped everyone and made it fun for the contestants. That’s part of the reason I wanted to help; I want to be someone’s Joya.”

As a first-time director, Bogren is busy dealing with the “business details” of organizing a production.

“There’s insurance stuff you have to do, and you have to go to local businesses and local colleges about the Miss Kenosha scholarships,” she said. “Everyone I talked to who was a sponsor before said ‘sure, we’ll do it again.’ That’s because this event is so well run.”

This year’s pageant is already in great shape, Bogren said.

“The auditorium seats about 960 people, and we only have about 180 tickets left. Last year, we sold out, and I’m hoping to sell out again. The energy is just insane when the place is packed.”

This year’s show — Feb. 8 at St. Joseph Catholic Academy — will be, as always, “family friendly,” Bogren said. “We always get a lot of boys and girls in the audience.”

After the pageant, everyone is invited to an after-party at Twisted Cuisine.

“We really stress the celebration of it. It’s a friendly contest,” Bogren said.

Fourteen women are taking part in the contest, open to women ages 18-24. They will be judged on talent, evening wear, an on-stage question and a private, pre-show interview with the judges.

Each candidate also has a social impact statement, known as a platform.

When Bogren was Miss Kenosha in 2014, her platform was literacy — a good choice for a teacher.

“Each person has 15 seconds on stage to discuss her platform,” Bogren said, “and 90 seconds for talent.”

That’s a tight window for performing, and Bogren, whose talent was baton twirling, said her strategy was “packing in as many difficult tricks as possible.”

Missing this year is the physical fitness (swimsuit) category, which has been eliminated by the national Miss America organization.

Bogren said not having to walk across a stage in a swimsuit will likely reduce anxiety for this year’s candidates but also said, having done it herself, that moment “is weirdly empowering, too. You have to get into a confident mindset.”

Bogren stresses that producing the Miss Kenosha competition is a team effort.

Assistant Director Ashley Sturdevant — Miss Kenosha 2011 — “was a huge support for me when I was Miss Kenosha,” Bogren said, “and she really helped give me confidence at all my appearances. We’re a great team; when one of us is exhausted, the other one picks up and keeps going.”

Also assisting this year is Bogren’s father, Steve, who will emcee the show.

“He was a school principal for 30 years and is a former band director, and he’s ‘Mr. Stage Presence,'” Bogren said, laughing. “He thinks it will be fun to do, and I’m really proud of him for doing this. He’s always been so supportive of me.”

A huge component of Miss Kenosha is the scholarship money awarded to the winner and to several of the contestants.

“We give away a lot of money,” Bogren said. “The top five contestants in 2019 all got some scholarship money, and we’re aiming to award that much again this year.”

The scholarship money was a main reason Borgren decided to compete in the pageant.

Bogren, a Carthage College graduate, said her scholarship money “took a lot of the financial burden off of me and my parents.”

She also benefited from the Miss Kenosha Pageant in other, non-monetary ways, and is hoping this year’s candidates do, too.

“I was very introverted,” she said. “I credit Miss Kenosha for me being outgoing. It helped me to do things I never thought I could do.”

Being in the contest, she added, “takes people out of their comfort zones. It’s a great confidence booster.”

To say 2020 is a busy year for Bogren is an understatement.

Besides teaching at St. Joseph Catholic Academy, she’s been actively working on the pageant since October.

But that’s not all.

“I’m getting married in June, and we just bought a house,” she said. “So I’m busy planning a wedding and a honeymoon and Miss Kenosha.”

What keeps her sane? “I have a lot of accordion folders that help keep me organized.”