I am Debbie Graston the national Director of GemStars Beauty and Talent Pageants which was started in 2000. I started GemStars because I am a  mother of 4 pageant kids, 3 girls and 1 boy who competed in just about every system that was around when they were competing.   When our favorite system was discontinued I followed all the things we loved about it and a few things that I wanted to change to develop my own system.   We have a  very encouraging outlook on pageants and want every child to feel special and and have fun and make new friends while learning about healthy competition and good sportsmanship.