Pictured above: Elizabeth King (left two images) and Anneli White (right two images)

LEXINGTON, Ky. July 19, 2024- The Miss America Kentucky competition is the official preliminary pageant to the Miss America title. With multiple past competitors from Gatton, including Alex Franke Sohn (Miss Kentucky 2019-2020), we are proud to add Elizabeth King and Anneli White to that list. 

Elizabeth and Anneli had both previously won regional preliminaries to qualify for the competition—Elizabeth was Miss Heart of Bourbon Country, and Anneli was Miss Nelson County. Both have been involved with the Miss Kentucky Organization for many years, though, by competing at the teen level. Anneli held the titles Miss Richmond's Teen (2018) Miss My Old Kentucky Home's Teen (2019), and Miss Wayne County Area's Teen (2020-2021) prior to this competition. Elizabeth was Miss Bardstown's Teen (2021) and Miss Danville's Teen (2022). She placed in the top 8 in 2021 and then earned the title of first runner-up at the 2022 Miss Kentucky's Outstanding Teen competition. This year was their first year in the collegiate-level competition. 

The Miss Kentucky competition consists of a 10-minute private interview, Talent, on-Stage Question, Fitness, and Evening Gown.

Another large component of the competition is community service initiatives. Elizabeth, a finance and flute performance major as well as a Gatton Ambassador, created her initiative, "Mind Your Money - Investing in Financial Literacy." Through this initiative, she hopes to bring financial literacy lessons to Kentucky Classrooms and has done so through Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass. She has also taken the initiative to UK's campus, hosting a series of events for students in the College of Fine Arts "to bring practical financial literacy skills to music students, bridging the gap between lessons learned in the classroom and skills needed to succeed in the career field. [She] hosted a panel with professional musicians about "How to Make it as a Musician" and presented alongside the MoneyCats and UK Financial Wellness Center about 'Dollars and Sense'"(King, LinkedIn). 

Anneli, a Marketing and Integrated Strategic Communication student, uses her marketing talents for her service initiative, Hope All Around. Through this, she raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer patients in Kentucky by participating in DanceBlue. She has been involved in the organization throughout her time at UK— she danced as a team captain her freshman year, served as the graphic design coordinator as a sophomore, merchandise coordinator as a junior, and is now going to be serving as the marketing chair during her senior year. 

Both Elizabeth and Anneli received many honors at the competition. Elizabeth received the Preliminary Talent Award and Non-Finalist Talent Award and was recognized in the Top 5 Quality of Life Community Service Award for her community service initiative. Anneli placed in the top 10 overall, earning the title of a semi-finalist. For both girls, it was their first time competing in the Miss Kentucky competition! 

The Miss America organization serves primarily as a scholarship organization. Both Anneli and Elizabeth have earned numerous scholarships through competing. Anneli says that "because of Miss Kentucky, I am graduating completely debt free." Elizabeth earned $1,600 in scholarships during the competition.