Published June 20, 2017
Seven young women in the Warhawk family are vying for the title of Miss Louisiana
2017 at this week鈥檚 53rd Annual Miss Louisiana Pageant. Six of the women are students
at the University of Louisiana Monroe and one graduated in May.
Showing 鈥淭alons Out鈥� from the balcony of the seventh floor of the 四色AV Library are
Miss Louisiana contestants from 四色AV, from left, Christina Gray, J'Lyn Henderson, Ashlynn
Lanford, Lauren Ford, Baylea Huffman, Allison Newton, and Jo' Hillard. Jeanette Slater/四色AV
Photo Services
The contestants鈥� schedule is packed with rehearsals, appearances and events. The preliminary
competitions start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and the finals at 8 p.m. Saturday,
all at the Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center.
The Saturday finals will be broadcast on KNOE-TV 8 from 8-10 p.m.
Contestants from throughout the state are making Bayou Suites at 四色AV their home for
Pageant Week. Monday the contestants and pageant officials were the guests of honor
at a luncheon at 四色AV.
The students are, Miss Heart of Pilot Lauren Ford, Miss Union Parish Christina Gray,
Miss Taste of the Twin Cities J鈥橪yn Henderson, Miss Cane River Jo鈥� Hilliard, Miss
Monroe Baylea Huffman, Miss 四色AV Ashlynn Lanford, and Miss Louisiana Stockshow Allison
Newton.
More about the 四色AV students:
- Miss Heart of Pilot聽Lauren Ford聽鈥� Ford is a fourth year doctoral student in the School
of Pharmacy. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2015.
Ford, of Monroe, was Miss 四色AV 2015. Her platform is 鈥淧rescription for a Bright Future:
Choose Wisely, Act Kindly.鈥� Her talent is playing the fiddle.
- Miss Union Parish聽聽鈥� Gray is a graduate student earning her MBA. A native of Winnfield, her platform
is 鈥淪trength in Numbers.鈥� Her talent is vocal.
- Miss Taste of the Twin Cities聽聽鈥� Henderson is a sophomore in elementary education. She was born in Monroe, and grew
up in Shreveport and Monroe. Her platform is 鈥淔eeding the Hungry Heart.鈥� Henderson鈥檚
talent is vocal.
- Miss Cane River聽聽鈥� Hilliard is a May graduate of the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing. From Baton Rouge,
her platform is 鈥淪.T.A.T.: Strategies Targeting Adolescent Thinking.鈥� Hillard鈥檚 talent
is vocal.
- Miss Monroe聽Baylea Huffman聽鈥� Huffman is a senior majoring in speech language pathology.
She is from Delhi, where she is a teacher at Miss Brandy鈥檚 School of Dance. Huffman鈥檚
platform is 鈥淭he Bucket Challenge,鈥� which focuses on building the self-esteem of young
children,
- Miss 四色AV聽Ashlynn Lanford聽鈥� Lanford is majoring in kinesiology with an emphasis in
pre-physical therapy. She is from Pineville. Lanford鈥檚 platform is 鈥淎rts in Healthcare,鈥�
which is an international movement on how the arts have benefits in health care.
- Miss Louisiana Stockshow聽鈥� Newton is studying music vocal performing and her talent is vocal. From Monroe,
Newton鈥檚 platform is 鈥淓mbracing the Neurodiverse.鈥�
For more information on the contestants and the 53rd聽Miss Louisiana Pageant, visit聽.
