Union's Autumn Hicks Vies for Miss Kentucky Title

Miss Belle of the Bluegrass, Courtney Day, Over-all winner Miss Cumberland Valley, Autumn Hicks and Miss Southern Kentucky, Lacy York

Union College junior Autumn Hicks will vie for the coveted Miss Kentucky title in June of this year. Hicks qualifies for the pageant as the reigning Miss Cumberland Valley. She was crowned Saturday, January 29 at Bell County High School.

Hicks, a member of the college cycling team, competed in the pageant on a platform of bicycle safety. As a competitive cyclist, her platform, Bike Safety: D.A.R.E. to Wear a Helmet/National Safe Kids Campaign is something that Hicks holds close to her heart.

"I began to focus on bicycle safety as a student back home in Pine Top. I work with the Knott County D.A.R.E. program and we encourage students to ride safely and wear a helmet," Hicks said.

As reigning queen, Hicks will vie for the title of Miss Kentucky this summer. She, along with thirty-one other contestants, will compete for $50,000 in cash scholarships and for over $4.5 million in in-kind scholarships to Kentucky colleges and universities. A Miss Kentucky title will earn Hicks a trip to Atlantic City to compete in the Miss America pageant held in September.

As a cyclist, Hicks was named Kentucky's 1998 Women's Mountain Biking State Champion, placed 2nd in the World Cup held in Atlanta, and has placed 5th in the sport's national competition. Recently, Hicks brought home a 1st place trophy at a mountain biking race in Fontana, North Carolina.

Hick's also excels in theatre. She has joined the ranks of her fellow students in the Union College Theatre and is scheduled to perform in their upcoming production of Act of Imagination and will soon be making her debut as a director for the theatre company.

Hicks was also chosen from a group of 900 performers to be placed in a character pool of four at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fl. She was in line to become the next Cinderella.

Hicks has received well over a hundred acting awards as a member of the Kentucky High School Speech and Drama League, performed in many productions as a member of the Jenny Wiley Theatre group, and place nationally as a member of the Knott County Speech and Drama team.

Hicks has participated in scholarship pageants since she was eight months old. "This particular pageant will help me pay for my education at Union College," she said. "But ultimately, my goal is to participate in the Miss Kentucky Scholarship Pageant and then, hopefully, the Miss America program."

February 3, 2005

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