Monettan wins ‘10 Most Beautiful Women’ contest

Dana Hesington, at right, accepted the $1,000 check from 417 Magazine as the donation to her charity of choice, On Angel’s Wings, at the conclusion of the magazine’s annual “10 Most Beautiful Women” pageant. Holding the check is Michelle L. Cramer, founder and president of On Angels' Wings. Contributed photo

Dana Hesington earns $1,000 donation for On Angel's Wings

Dana Dutton Hesington of Monett has become the first person from Monett to win the "10 Most Beautiful Women" contest sponsored by 417 Magazine in Springfield.

Finals for the pageant were held on Sept. 14 at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield. In June, Hesington, 52, a registered nurse with Mercy Hospice, had successfully advanced to the top 20 in the annual contest. Online balloting advanced her to the top 10.

Dana Hesington on the runway for 417 Magazine’s “10 Most Beautiful Women” contest in Springfield. Contributed photo

"I'm most proud of all the Monett women who showed up for the event," Hesington said. "I had the largest cheering crowd there and there were hundreds of people at this event."

Hesington is the co-founder of the Tri-County Pregnancy Resource Center, which began in 2010 as an affiliate and restarted as a locally run entity.

She is also a member of the professional women's Group Focusing on Community, Unity and Sisterhood (FOCUS), which runs the Focus on Prom dress outreach for less affluent girls to be able to afford a prom experience, and for others to recycle their prom dresses for other's use.

For her efforts, 417 Magazine made a $1,000 donation to Hesington's charity of choice, On Angel's Wings, a coalition of professional photographers providing photo albums to families of terminally ill children. Modeled after the national organization Now I Lay Me Down, On Angel's Wings operates entirely by donations, going into families' homes and taking pictures to provide a keepsake of a special albeit short life. The service is used by both Cox Monett Hospital and Mercy Hospital.