Miss Butler County and Miss Augusta Crowned

“There she is,” in the iconic words immortalized by Bert Parks, “the dream of a million girls who are more than pretty.”  

From left to right: Augusta’s Teen Candidate Emmie Johnston, Miss Augusta 2022 Anna Holman, Miss Kansas 2021 Taylor Clark, Miss Butler County 2022 Sierra Marie Bonn, Butler County’s Teen Candidate Grace Isch.

Sierra Marie Bonn was crowned Miss Butler County and Anna Holman was crowned Miss Augusta during the annual Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County Scholarship Competition held at Augusta High School on Saturday, October 2, 2021.

Bonn, a resident of Butler County, an El Dorado High School alum and Miss El Dorado 2021.  She served the community as Miss Augusta 2019. 

.Miss Butler County 2020-21 Allie Gier crowns her successor Miss Butler County 2022 Sierra Marie Bonn. Gier served two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She is a graduate of Wichita State University with an engineering technology degree. Bonn advocates for STEAM education through her SII “Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead!”  STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.  

“‘Let’s Go Full STEAM Ahead!’ was founded to empower individuals of all ages to develop the critical thinking and collaboration skills needed to advance in their personal and professional lives,” said Bonn. “Additionally, the program works to resolve the inequity and underrepresentation in STEAM fields.” 

Holman is a resident of Columbus, Kansas and she was Miss Augusta’s Outstanding Teen 2019.  She is a Junior at Pittsburg State University and her educational focus is exercise science with a pre-physical therapy emphasis.  She advocates for physical fitness and inclusion for people with disabilities through her social impact initiative, “Fitness for All.”

Six young women competed for the titles of Miss Augusta and Miss Butler County and the scholarship dollars that accompany those titles.  The candidates were Maddie Livingston, Tyler Pollard, Payton Keller, Katie Brooks, Anna Holman and Sierra Marie Bonn. 

“Both Sierra and Anna will receive a wonderful scholarship and wardrobe assistance for the Miss Kansas Competition in June 2022,” said Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County Executive Director Larry Strong.

Bonn won an additional $100 scholarship as the overall interview winner.  The scholarships can be paid directly to the institution they are attending or towards student loan payments. 

The phases of competition include a private interview with judges, a Social Impact Initiative (SII) pitch and on-stage question, talent performance and red carpet wear. 

Augusta’s Teen Candidate Emmie Johnston, left, and Butler County’s Teen Candidate Grace Isch, right.

Two Miss Kansas’ Outstanding Teen (MKSOTeen) Candidates, Emmie Johnston and Grace Isch, made their first official appearance as well.  Jonhston will represent Augusta and Isch will represent Butler County at the MKSOTeen Competition March 25-27, 2022 in Pratt, Kansas.

The Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County Scholarship Competition is a local competition within the Miss America Organization and Strong has been involved with the organization for 47 years. 

Larry Strong, center, with Miss Butler County Sierra Marie Bonn, left, and Miss Augusta Anna Holman, right.

“The first Miss Butler County Scholarship Pageant was held on September 3, 1975,” said Strong.  

“In 2006, the Miss Augusta title was part of the White Eagle Festival,” said Strong.  “In 2008, both the Miss Augusta and Miss Butler County titles merged to become an official local of the Miss Kansas Organization, Inc.”

Throughout his many years of involvement, Strong has a successful track record of helping young women with their personal and professional development.  

As a volunteer, he works to fulfill the mission of the Miss America and Miss Kansas Organizations, to “prepare great women for the world and prepare the world for great women.”  

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Miss America Organization.  The Miss America Organization is a nationally recognized non-profit and serves as one of the largest providers of scholarship assistance to young women in the world. 

Since 2010, Strong estimates that the Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County Organization has awarded over $35,000 in scholarships. 

Strong said 6 women from the organization that have gone on to become Miss Kansas.  They are Heather Lynn Clark, Michelle Walthers, Emily Deaver, Lauren Werhan, Hannah Wagner and the current Miss Kansas, Taylor Clark.   

“Taylor was Miss Butler County’s Outstanding Teen 2017 and went on to win Miss Kansas’ Outstanding Teen 2017,” said Strong.  “Taylor was Miss Augusta 2020 and she is the first teen titleholder to also become Miss Kansas.” 

Additionally, he is proud of the many girls from Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County who have gone on to place in the Top 5 and Top Ten, as well as the numerous preliminary winners. 

Bonn and Holman will both go on to compete at the state-level, in the Miss Kansas Scholarship Competition in June 2022. To learn more about the Miss Kansas and MKSOTeen programs, visit MissKansas.org

Miss Frontier Promotes Foreign Language Education

While fans of the PBS drama “Downton Abbey” prepare for its big screen debut and the arrival of the Queen, another type of queen has arrived on campus, with much less fanfare.  The newly crowned Miss Frontier, Naomi Galindo, has also gained a new title – Butler Grizzly.  

Miss Frontier 2019 Naomi Galindo appeared before the City Commission to promote the HollyFrontier Western Celebration as one of her first duties.  Photo by Deanna Bonn 

Galindo began classes this fall at Butler and aims to eventually earn a Ph.D. in Linguistics.  She currently speaks three languages, French, English and Spanish and has started learning Russian this semester. 

“I’m planning to attend KU and major in Russian/East European/Central Asian studies with a minor in political science ,” Galindo said.

While you may think it’s her crown and sash that set her apart from the average student, it’s actually her social initiative and personal passion of promoting Foreign Language Education for Grades K-12.  

Miss Frontier 2019 Naomi Galindo. Photo by Jennifer West

As Miss Frontier, Galindo will have many opportunities to share her platform and help raise awareness for the importance of Foreign Language Education for students from kindergarten through high school.  

The Miss Frontier pageant is a part of the HollyFrontier Western Celebration and is held annually in El Dorado.  The young woman crowned each year serves an ambassador to the celebration and they go on to represent the community through a variety of volunteer opportunities and appearances. 

Galindo said, “I’m a huge fan of Miss Universe and so I found out that we had a local pageant and I decided to compete.”  

Many young women participate in pageants as a way to help pay for school.  Many pageant systems provide scholarship money or partner with colleges to provide in-kind scholarships.  Through her participation in pageants, Galindo has started college debt-free and plans to continue competing to earn more scholarships.  She previously held the titles of Miss Teen Frontier 2017 and Miss Teen El Dorado 2018.  

Galindo said, “I would like to promote my platform, keep developing myself and my platform. I would also like to compete in the Miss Kansas pageant.” 
As a result of winning the title of Miss Frontier, Galindo has the opportunity to participate in the Miss Kansas Competition.  The Miss Kansas Competition is a part of the Miss America Organization and participation in that program opens the doors to even more scholarships.     

According to the Miss America Organization, “The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s largest providers of scholarship assistance to young women.” 

The Miss Kansas Scholarship Program is for young women age 17-25 years old. 

According to the Miss Kansas Organization, through their participation in the program, young women earn more than scholarship awards for college.  They gain community service experience as well as experience in speaking extemporaneously.   

They learn to formulate and present their views on important issues.  They grow in grace while improving social skills. They learn to set goals and work toward physical fitness and they learn to build a network while meeting new people with confidence and security.

The young women who participate in the Miss Kansas Scholarship Program gain experience in planning and time management as well as developing a performance talent.  Galindo’s talent is singing and she performed a song in Croatian at Miss Frontier. 

Galindo’s reign will be marked by a year of service.  In addition to multiple opportunities to volunteer, she will advocate for a personal platform, also known as a social initiative.  A social initiative is a project developed by the individual and acts as catalysts for positive social change.  

Galindo’s social initiative is promoting Foreign Language Education for Grades K-12.  Additionally, Galindo wants to encourage other young women to compete for scholarships. 

“This year I’m working on recruiting girls for the Miss and Teen Division to get them involved with the pageant.  There are a lot of opportunities such as winning a scholarship, gaining confidence and developing friendships,” Galindo said. 

While the next Miss Kansas Competition is not until June 2020, Galindo will be busy with her classes at Butler Community College and her royal duties as Miss Frontier.