Held traveled thousands of miles throughout Louisiana to over forty five different pageants, festivals, and special events.

Rachel Lyn Held, the 2005 Louisiana Catfish Queen XXX, will complete her royal reign on June 10 during the pageant which will be held at 7 p.m. in the Hahnville High School auditorium. Held is the nineteen year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kim D. Held of Destrehan. She attends Southeastern Louisiana University and plans to pursue a career in Radiology Technology.

As the La Catfish Queen, she represented St. Gertrude Church, the Louisiana Catfish Festival and the town of Des Allemands, known as the "Catfish Capital of the World". She states that her main objective as festival ambassador was to "increase public awareness and attendance to the Catfish Festival. She adds that her job was enjoyable and easy because "this awesome crown attracts people to ask questions about your festival".

The new queen will attend the 2007 Mardi Gras Ball in Washington D.C., and compete in the 2007 Louisiana Fair and Festival's Queen pageant against approximately 70 other Louisiana festival queens for the title of "Queen of Queens". Anyone interested in becoming a contestant for the 31st La Catfish Miss Queen competition can contact Mrs. Lydia Dempster at 785-0289.

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