Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen contestant Makayla Seamster and her Little Miss Spat contestant Jullianna Gobush worked hard this summer to help save the Chesapeake Bay by cleaning near local waterways and supporting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Makayla decided to support the local waterway, the Chesapeake Bay, because it is a vital part of the community here in Middlesex County. Many people do not respect it and keep it clean.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation was an obvious choice as an organization to support. They are the largest independent conservation organization dedicated to saving the Bay. Money donated to this foundation goes directly to conservation efforts for the bay. One of her decisions was to make the project more localized by cleaning up trash near local waterways. Pollutants from our creeks and rivers run directly into the bay.
For their first project they organized a bake sale at Locust Hill 7-Eleven convenience store on June 18. They sold baked goods as well as passed out educational materials about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Many of the baked goods were even wrapped in recyclable and biodegradable packaging to decrease the amount of waste produced from the bake sale. At this bake sale they were able to raise more than $400.
They then organized a fundraiser at Debbie’s Family Restaurant. A donation jar was set up and every time someone donated $1, they were asked to write a short message or sign their name on a slip of paper that had the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s logo on it. The slips were then placed around the door to raise awareness for their cause and encourage people to donate. Many people donated and they were able to raise more than $260.
They then worked hard to plan a paddle board and kayak clean up at Rosegill Beach in Urbanna. On July 16, they got a group of people from the community to paddle over to the beach and collect trash. In total they were able to collect five bags of trash from the beach and the marina. Many members of the community came out to join. People there were happy to see someone cleaning a vital part of the county. At later dates, they also cleaned up Oakes Landing and areas near Meacham Creek, where they collected an additional three bags of trash.
Overall they were able to donate $1,450 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and collect eight bags of trash near local waterways.
During her years at Middlesex High School, Makayla has been a member of the Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, and Key Club. She has been an active member of the Key Club since her freshman year, when she received the Above and Beyond Service award. She has completed more than 130 service hours in those three years. She was vice president of the Key Club for two years and is currently serving as president for the 2022-2023 school year.
Makayla has played the flute in the concert band for the last seven years, as well as playing the flute and piccolo in the MHS marching band. She was also a member of the MHS tennis team for three years.
Makayla attends Chesa-peake Bay Governor’s School, where she has received Director’s List recognition. She has also been on the honor roll at the high school every nine weeks. She plans to attend college and major in biology.
Makayla is the daughter of Billie Jenkins and Earnest Seamster, and the granddaughter of James and Micheala Burcher, and the late Linda and Albert Seamster. She has a younger sister, Makenzie.
Jullianna Gobush, Makayla’s Little Miss Spat contestant, is a first grader at Aylett Country Day School. She is the daughter of Gari Lister and Matt Gobush. She is the youngest of six girls. Jullianna enjoys riding horses.
She wants to be a zookeeper when she is older.
The 2022 Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen and Little Miss Spat competition contestants include:
- Sara Hale and Piper Gill.
- Courtney Harrow and Kayleigh Carias.
- Makayla Seamster and Julianna Gobush.
- Abigail Smiley and Lucy Myers and Olivia Payne (Abigail has two Spats because a Queen contestant dropped out).
- Grace Wynberry and Finley Welch.
One of the five Queen-Little Miss Spat contestant profiles is being featured weekly in the Sentinel.
The 2022 Queen and Little Miss Spat will be crowned on Friday, Nov. 4, at the Urbanna firehouse at 4 p.m.
Scholarship sponsors for the Queen contestants include Bethpage Camp-Resort, C&F Bank, Faulkner Funeral Homes-Bristow-Faulkner Chapel-Saluda, Grey’s Point Camp, Jason and Emilie Rowe, J&W Seafood, Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, Rosegill Development LLC, Thurston Properties, Thurston Spring Service, Dr. C. Ben Lennon DDS, River Wood Works, Ryman’s A/C & Heating, Towne Insurance, Price Properties, and Primis Bank.
Sponsors for the Little Miss Spat competition include River Birch Nursery, Unique Golf Carts, and Massey Urbanna Builders Supply.
