Kaylie Simpson crowned Miss River Raisin Festival 2024 during Blissfield's festival

BLISSFIELD — In her first appearance participating in the Miss River Raisin Festival Scholarship program , Kaylie Simpson made it worth her time.

The current Adrian resident, who graduated with her master's degree in athletic training/sports medicine in 2022 from Adrian College , said she had been on a nine-year hiatus from participating in local pageants and area scholarship programs when she decided to give Blissfield’s program a shot.

That chance she took resulted in securing the crown and title of Miss River Raisin Festival 2024 on Friday, July 12, during the annual River Raisin Festival weekend in Blissfield.

“It felt really good actually,” Simpson said of being back on stage and participating in various rounds of competition. “I realized that I was more mature and that I felt more myself.”

Not only did she end up winning the title of Miss River Raisin Festival 2024, but Simpson also said Friday’s crowning was the first time she had ever been part of a pageant/scholarship program and came out on top.

Prior to residing in Adrian, Simpson was a Monroe County resident, living in Maybee. Then, she used to compete in the Miss Monroe County Outstanding Teen competitions.

She told The Daily Telegram on Tuesday, July 16, she was “grateful” for the opportunity to compete in the Miss River Raisin program and for securing this year’s crown and sash.

“I went out there with no expectations except to be myself and to hopefully make a good showing and have a good time,” she said.

The Miss River Raisin Festival Scholarship program is in its 29th year as a local competition held each summer in Blissfield as part of the River Raisin Festival, an event that marked its 40th anniversary this past weekend. The Miss River Raisin program is Lenawee County’s only scholarship program affiliated with the Miss Michigan Scholarship Opportunity and Miss America Opportunity .

More: Miss River Raisin Festival Scholarship program gearing up for 29th year in Blissfield

In its 29-year history, the scholarship program has provided more than $196,000 in college scholarships to women in Lenawee County. They must be single, young women who meet the age requirement of the competition, are residents of Lenawee County or who attend college or high school in the county on a full-time basis or who work at least 30 hours per week in the county.

Competition places an emphasis on a candidate’s interview, talent, service and fitness through guidelines adopted by the Miss America Opportunity.

As the newest winner of the Miss River Raisin Festival program, Simpson — who was one of eight delegates competing on stage Friday night — will prepare for and advance to the Miss Michigan competition in June 2025.

Between now and then, she said she plans to enhance her talent — she performed a jazz dance routine last week — and she plans to enhance her interview skills and work on developing her service initiative, formerly called a platform.

Simpson’s service initiative is titled “B.E.I.N.G. There for Youth: Believing, Educating, Inspiring and Nurturing Growth.”

“I absolutely love my (initiative) and having the opportunity to spread its awareness across Lenawee County and maybe even the state,” she said.

Simpson keeps herself busy in terms of the education field. After her time at Adrian College, she now leads a Christ-centered mentoring program called Young Life at Addison High School . She also is the elementary ministry director at Ogden Church , and she is the athletic trainer for student-athletes at Onsted High School .

“I really do call Lenawee County my home, even though I was born and grew up in Monroe County,” she said. “I feel like I have been able to find myself and mature here in Lenawee County. I guess you could say I have been able to ‘spread my wings.’”

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In addition to winning the scholarship program, Simpson also secured $5,300 in scholarship funding, which she said will be used to pay off some of her master’s degree student loans.

The announcement of Miss River Raisin Festival consists of a trophy, crown, sash and includes funds totaling $2,500. Simpson earned the following scholarships:

• Dorothy Mitchell Brown Elegance in Evening Gown Award: $100 scholarship.
• Jennifer R. Dalton M.D. Summit Award: $1,000 scholarship. She was one of three delegates to each earn this scholarship, the others being Emily Auth and Olivia Wood.
• Olivia Miller Overall Talent Award: $200 scholarship.
• Blissfield Lions Club Community Service Award: $500 scholarship.
• Kathleen “Kathy” Goetz Memorial Compassionate Leadership and Service Award: $500 scholarship.

Simpson said she succeeded thanks largely to her family, friends and supporters. She estimated at least 30 people were at Friday’s program to support and cheer her on.

“I owe so many things to my family and friends who were there,” she said. “It made me feel more comfortable and unique in my approach.”

For the remainder of the festival weekend, Simpson said she was often greeted with wishes of congratulations from festivalgoers. The Friday night events were capped by a fireworks display and on Saturday morning, she and Miss Michigan 2024 Jenae Lodewyk, were part of the annual River Raisin Festival parade.

“I experienced a lot of love and acceptance in Blissfield this past weekend,” she said.

The runners-up were:

• First runner-up: Ashlee Pelham, of Adrian. She received a trophy, a $500 Blissfield Rotary Scholarship and $1,100 in total scholarships as first runner-up.
• Second runner-up: Emily Maran, of Deerfield. She received a trophy, a $500 Kristie Hillard Jones Scholarship and $900 in total scholarships as second runner-up.
• Third runner-up: Emily Auth, of Blissfield. She received a trophy and $800 in total scholarships as third runner-up.

Angelica Pena, Kindell Covey, Olivia Wood and Marissa Manley were the remaining delegates to compete in the 2024 Miss River Raisin Festival Scholarship program.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman .

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Kaylie Simpson crowned Miss River Raisin Festival 2024 during Blissfield's festival