HOLLYWOOD — CeCe Thomas and Violet Osceola were crowned the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s new princesses July 27 at the 67th annual Miss Florida Seminole Princess Pageant on the Hollywood Reservation.

Thomas won the Miss Florida Seminole title and Osceola won the Jr. Miss Florida Seminole title. They will serve one-year reigns representing the tribe.

Thomas, 18, is from the Brighton Reservation. She is a 2024 graduate of Moore Haven High School who also earned an associate’s degree from Florida SouthWestern State College while in high school. She is from the Bird Clan and is the daughter of Cecelia Tommie and Frank Thomas.

“This means everything to me,” Thomas said about becoming Miss Florida Seminole. “It’s the biggest accomplishment I’ve ever had.”

Osceola, 14, was the youngest of all seven pageant contestants. She’s from the tribe’s Trail community in the Ochopee area of Collier County. She is from the Otter Clan. Her parents are Melody Osceola and Joseph Osceola.

“It means a lot more than I can say in words,” said Osceola, who is a 10th grader at the Miccosukee School. “I don’t know how to express it, but I know I’ll be working hard for my tribe.”

Thomas and Leiliani Burton, 19, from Okeechobee, competed for the Miss Florida Seminole crown. The Jr. Miss field consisted of Osceola, Felicia Buck, 17, from Felda; Gabriella Diaz, 17, from Hollywood; Willo James, 17, from Brighton; and Chaka (Yani) Smith, 16, from Okeechobee.

Thomas and Osceola were crowned on stage by their predecessors, Thomlynn Billie and Tahnia Billie, respectively.

The pageant included an introduction from each contestant followed by clothing, talent and Q&A segments. Thomas and Osceola won the talent awards; Thomas and Buck won the essay awards; and Burton won Miss Congeniality.

Presentations in the talent portion included the art of basketmaking by Buck, Native hymns sung in Mikasuki and Creek by Diaz, the many uses of sabal palms by James, how to harvest corn and prepare it for sofkee by Osceola, Smith read from a book in her Native language that she wrote as a middle school student, Burton demonstrated how Seminole women used baby carrier cloths to carry their children during the Seminole Wars, and Thomas discussed her love of painting and showed one her works, a great, white egret.

The pageant was held in the tribal headquarters auditorium, where the walls were adorned with portraits of previous princess winners. The pageant started exactly when it was scheduled to start, 7 p.m., and lasted two hours and 12 minutes.

Van Samuels served as emcee. Paul Buster provided the invocation.

The judges tasked with selecting the new princesses were Debra Whaley from Florida CattleWomen Inc., Miss Indian World Kassandra John, and Justin Huenemann, CEO/president of First Peoples Fund.

Prior to the pageant, the judges toured the Big Cypress Reservation, where they met Councilwoman Mariann Billie and Board Rep. Nadine Bowers. They also visited the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

“Many thanks for this amazing opportunity that I will always and forever cherish,” Whaley said in a note to the Princess program.

“My time here in Florida has been wonderful,” Huenemann wrote. “From day one, the kindness and hospitality shown has been amazing. It was an honor to be asked to be a judge. I can now see, it’s a big deal for the tribe. I enjoyed traveling to Big Cypress and learning about the Seminole Tribe of Florida. I enjoyed meeting so many people. This was a new experience for me, one that I will not forget. Thank you to all who made this possible.”

Before the winners were announced, the outgoing princesses received a video tribute and then addressed the audience with their final words in their one-year reigns. They thanked their family members who helped them along the way.

Jr. Miss Florida Tahnia Billie, 16, said she plans to run for Miss Seminole when she turns 18.

Thomlynn Billie said she’s been competing in the pageant since she was 12 and becoming Miss Florida Seminole was a dream come true.

“From when I was a little girl this is all I ever dreamed of,” she said.