The 2022 Miss Minden, Miss Spirit of Fasching and Miss Minden Outstanding Teen will be crowned at 7 p.m. Saturday, January 15, at Minden High School Auditorium during the Miss Minden/Spirit of Fasching Scholarship Pageant. Tickets are $10 each and will be sold at the door.
Platinum sponsor is Home Federal Bank. Gold Sponsors are Mike’s Hometown Spirits, Terry Gardner for Mayor, and Minden Family Pharmacy. Silver sponsors include b1 Bank, Meriwether Wealth & Planning, The Tree Guys, Hugh Wood Specialty Meats, Harper Motors, Cindy Ritchie Walker, Nick Cox, and Minden Family Dental.
Lily Grace Spillers lives in Minden, Louisiana, and is a student at Louisiana Tech University with a major in Marketing and a minor in Graphic Design. Her personal impact statement is Look Up Louisiana—Off of Technology and Into Community. She was honored with Minden Civitan’s Citizen of the year for 2021. She loves to serve her community at The St. Jude auction and has had the privilege of helping paint the two murals in Minden that were painted this past year. She loves all things design and media and has gotten to help with local business logos as well as wedding invitations.
Anna Claire Lemoine, a resident of Minden, is a 17 year old senior at Glenbrook School. Her personal impact issue is Shifting Disability to Ability: Supporting Special Olympics through Volunteering. She is a member of the Senior Elite competition team at Cydni’s School of dance, and throughout her 15 years of dance has received awards including numerous dance convention scholarships, CSD Dancer of the Year, and the leading role in 2021 CSD ballet, Moana. She is a co-captain of the Varsity Cheer team at Glenbrook, an honors student, and a member of the National Honor Society. She is a current participant in the Youth Leadership Webster Program through the Minden Chamber of Commerce. In 2021 Anna Claire was selected as Webster Parish Fair Queen and as Apache Spirit Princess for the Glenbrook homecoming court. She is also an accomplished swimmer. She holds 14 records at her local club, MTAC, was the 2020 COSST Summer League girls’ 15-18 Champion, and qualified for the 2021 Louisiana All-Star team where she won three medals. Anna Claire attends First Baptist Church of Minden. In her spare time she enjoys baking, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.
Jacie Brent is a resident of Minden and a 2021 graduate of Louisiana Tech University, where she earned a BA in Communications. At Tech, she was a member of several clubs and honor societies, including the Peer Leadership Council, Alpha Psi Omega National Theater Honor Society, and Tri Delta sorority. This past summer, Jacie competed at Miss Louisiana as Miss Cane River 2020-2021 and earned the “Women in Mass Communications” award. Jacie currently works as an Advertising Executive at the Ruston Daily Leader and as a Photo Lead/Manager in Training at The Selfie Stop. Jacie’s Social Impact Initiative is “Nothing But Positive” and she will be performing an interpretive vocal performance at the competition this Saturday.
Abby Nelson was born in Pineville, Louisiana and is currently attending Northwestern State University. Her personal impact is called Shining with the Shriners. With this social impact, she wants to continue in her grandfather’s footsteps, who has been a member of the Shrine Club for over 10 years, to help raise money to benefit children in need at the Shriner’s hospital. Abby has received multiple awards including being named the Tioga High School Student of the Year, and receiving the honor of being on the Northwestern State President’s list several times.
My name is Courtney Patterson. I am an 18 year old resident of Shreveport, Louisiana. I am a freshman at Southern University Shreveport Louisiana; studying Early Childhood Education. My platform is called “A Sisterhood and a Lifetime of Community Service”. My platform is about women and girls in the Girl Scouts USA coming together to improve our communities via community service. The Girls Scouts USA is so dear to my heart because I have been a member for thirteen years. It has shaped me into the young woman I am today, and has taught me to make a difference in my community. It has also inspired me to show other girls to take part and be an advocate to better their community.
Izzy Gray is a resident of Minden, Louisiana. She is the daughter of Paul and Ginger Gray. She is a Freshman at Glenbrook Schools and is on the Varsity Cheer team. She was named a 2021 All American Cheerleader. Her platform is educating others about hunger awareness and how the National Feeding America Program is represented through our local food pantry, Joe LeBlanc Food Pantry in Webster Parish. She believes in the power of volunteerism and the idea that one person with another then another can make a difference. It is called the power of something.
Kayli Clardy Lives in Winnsboro, LA. She is a Senior Business Administration major at ULM. Her platform is Remembering: Alzheimer’s Awareness and Research.
Olivia Catherine Blackwelder is the 17 year old daughter of Kent and Lindsay Blackwelder of Minden. She is a Junior at Glenbrook School where she serves as Junior Class President and is a cheerleader, plays basketball and runs track for the Apaches. Olivia is a member of the National Honor Society and has a 3.8 grade point average. She is excited to promote her social impact initiative, It’s OK to be ME: I have ADHD. If chosen as your next Miss Minden’s Outstanding Teen, Olivia looks forward to sharing her story and encouraging others to confidently embrace what makes them different.
Rachel Eliza Singleton is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and a second-year biology major, with a double minor in Spanish and interactive media on the pre-med track, attending Spelman College. Rachel has a dynamic personality, an impressive list of academic achievements, an outstanding record of service to her community, as well as an inspirational talent for art. Rachel’s platform is “Rachel’s Rules Rewritten” Rachel’s Rules Rewritten focuses on the 3 Rs– regroup, rise, and restart– which strive to take the best of what exists and make it better. The first “R,” Regroup focuses on prioritizing the health and education of our youth by emphasizing the importance of physical fitness, mental health, and learning. The second “R,” Rise, emphasizes the importance of a significant educational foundation. It’s time to focus on our future and make sure every child in Louisiana has the foundation to be great. Rachel plans to work with state leaders to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to have a great foundation in science, technology, art, and math through mentorship and stem kits that will introduce kids to the fantastic possibilities STEAM can bring! It’s time to RISE, Louisiana! The 3rd and final “R” focuses on restarting a sense of community! Rachel plans to promote a proposal to inspire a commitment to our communities and young people. Rachel designed a mentorship program to help children as early as kindergarten to jump-start participation in community service. The program will promote a love of self and a love of community. After graduating, Rachel plans on attending Columbia University School of Medicine, where she hopes to become a neurosurgeon and earn her Ph.D. in neuroscience. Through her service and mentorship work, Rachel is an active leader in the community and has participated in more than 200 hours of community service in 2021. Rachel’s educational foundation, dynamic personality, and inspiring energy, coupled with her enthusiasm for high achievement, passion for her community, will undoubtedly lead her to greatness as she pursues her goals and achieves her dreams.