Repeat winners re-capture Five Hills crowns
Special to Leader-Press
Young Miss Five Hills 2021 Emily Kimball captured her third crown on Saturday night, at the 8th Annual Miss Five Hills Scholarship Pageant. She reigned as 2017 Preteen Miss Five Hills and 2018 Five Hills Ambassador. She tied another titleholder for having been selected by a panel of judges to wear the crown the third time, the most in the pageant’s history.
“I entered the pageant again this year to be able to represent my new platform, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Awareness, in honor of my grandmother,” Kimball said. “I was very nervous this year. There were so many amazing girls in my category.”
Preteen Miss Five Hills Dorianna Gilbert also won her third title this past Saturday night.
“I entered this pageant for a fourth time because I felt like it was time to get back out there again,” Gilbert said. “I’m much older now and I wanted to show everyone that I can go higher and compete with the older girls that I looked up to. I made a promise to myself that I would compete in 2021 because in 2020, I was busy filming for a television show and couldn’t dedicate my time to the pageant that year.”
Gilbert formerly held the Little Miss title when she was 5 years old and the Junior Miss title when she was 8 years old.
“I’ve grown so much since my reins in 2015 and 2018,” Gilbert said. “I’ve won three times in this awesome pageant. Two of those times were with my little sister who looks up to me.”
Gilbert’s sister, De’Ziyah, won the title of Junior Miss Five Hills 2021, her second win. Dorianna Gilbert will dedicate her yearlong reign to stopping bullying and De’Ziyah Gilbert will work to start a Blessings in a Backpack Program at House Creek Elementary to provide weekend meals for students in-need.
“I competed in the pageant this year to prove to myself that I can do it once again but without fear this time. I also wanted to compete because my sister was competing. We both won together in 2018 and we prayed so hard for us to win together again,” De’Ziyah Gilbert said. “The best part was my sister gave me such a big hug and told me she was proud of me. She also told me I was always a winner in her eyes.”
2019 Young Miss Five Hills Angelica Torres competed for the crown several times before finally winning two years ago. This year, she competed in the Teen Miss category.
“Competing this year was a little bit more nerve wrecking due to competing in a whole new age group and being only 15 (years old). I knew my competitors would be older than me and well prepared. I practiced my speech every chance I got,” Torres said. “When my name was called as the winner, I was honored and excited to have a second chance to represent Copperas Cove.”
2017 Baby Miss Five Hills Braelyn Liles also captured a second crown on Saturday.
“The first time Braelyn competed, she was just a baby and I just carried her across the stage. Now, she is 4 years old and was able to do the walk across stage by herself,” Mother Christy Liles said.
2021 Little Mister Five Hills Swayze Gray also reigned as the 2018 Tiny Mister Five Hills.
2020 Miniature Mister Five Hills Maddox Tobias was selected as the Five Hills Junior Ambassador and will continue to care for the Free Little Libraries because he gets “to make sure kids have lots of great books to read,” Tobias said.
2020 Senior Ms. Five Hills Dawn Hale’s platform of caring for the elderly will continue, with Hale selected as the 2021 Five Hills Ambassador.
“My biggest joy is to continue my work on my platform, Busy Hands Peaceful Minds, helping the elderly who are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia by making more peaceful mats to reach my goal of 200,” Hale said. “I am also looking forward to actually visiting the residents in person in the nursing homes this year and plan many activities with and for them.”
The titleholders attend their first appearances this Saturday to represent the City of Copperas Cove.