Every year, young women from across the Bluegrass compete in the Miss Kentucky competition.

Now, although it may seem just like a beauty contest, it's much more than that.

The Miss Kentucky Scholarship Organization is a nonprofit foundation devoted to empowering the women of Kentucky to achieve their personal and professional goals.

We traveled to Bowling Green for this year's Miss Kentucky competition to get a behind-the-scenes look.

[music playing] [music playing] Miss America has been around for over 100 years.

The state of Kentucky has been involved with the Miss America opportunity for 91 years.

I do still think it's a misconception that we're all about just beauty and appearances, but really, it's so much more than that.

We really have made such a shift to being a scholarship organization and one that also promotes service as well.

Our organization started in 1935, so we're going on 91 years of Miss Kentucky history, and each Miss Kentucky brought something different to the table and contributed to that legacy in their own way.

So, there's multiple phases of competition within the Miss America opportunity.

Each one's weighted a little differently.

And then, once they complete the preliminary competition, we will get a composite score, and the top 12 semifinalists will move on to finals competition Saturday evening to compete for the title.

[music playing] This week, of course, ends with the culmination of crowning a new Miss Kentucky and Miss Kentucky's Teen, which is my favorite part.

I think it's a real celebration of all the work that we put in year-round into making this week a success.

And this year's scholarship recipient is.

Miss Kentucky walks away with the opportunity for $20,000 to apply to scholastic, whether she's going to get her master's or her doctorate or PhD or even finish her undergrad.

And Miss Kentucky is a representative of the entire commonwealth, so she's someone who is mature and responsible, but she is that girl next door as well.

So, she's looking for improving scholastic opportunities, depending on what that looks like for her and her future endeavors.

She's a connector.

She is an influencer, and she meets people where they're at and leads them to where they need to go.

We're not looking for someone within a box.

We're looking for someone who's authentic, who can connect and truly believes in themselves.

You see these horror stories of people slashing dresses or cutting off heels, and that just does not happen.

If you spend some time with these girls, you really do see the sisterhood.

We talk a lot about sisterhood is one of the points of Miss America.

These girls truly exemplify that and you'll see that on the stage too when they talk.

They talk about just all the memories that they have, and that's why I love the Miss Kentucky Week.

It gives them that opportunity to form those friendships and really gather together and cheer each other on.

She's leaving here with 35 other sisters.

Who else is going to leave here with 35 sisters?

[cheers and applause] I think that's one of the most unique things about the Miss Kentucky organization is it truly is a sisterhood.

You see years where girls come back time after time.

If you walk away not having gained friends, were you even really participating?

You should be able to walk away with two or three really great friends.

I mean, half my bridesmaids were people I competed with at Miss Kentucky or Miss America, and that's so important because this is a unique opportunity that's unlike anything else.

The Miss Kentucky stage is the place that you will find the most accomplished, driven, and service-oriented women in our state.

If you're interested in being part of Miss Kentucky and being part of Miss America, this is where you start right here.

[cheering] Your Miss Kentucky 2026 is Reagan Earlywine.

I'm Reagan Earlywine.

I'm from Paris, Kentucky, and I'm Miss Kentucky 2026.

I was in complete shock.

I don't think that moment registered, and it still hasn't registered for me.

There she is, your new Miss Kentucky, Reagan Earlywine.

And you can just see the pure shock on my face because it was a shocking moment.

I started competing in pageants whenever I was nine years old but got involved with the Miss Kentucky organization at 12 years old.

So, whenever I was 12 and I started competing for Miss Kentucky's Outstanding Teen, I was chronically shy.

I would be way too shy to even speak in front of the panel of judges.

But by competing in Miss Kentucky, I got confidence when I needed it the most, and I was given a voice when I was still trying to find my own.

So, Miss America truly has shaped me into a well-rounded woman.

I was a dental student at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, but I will be taking a year off to do my duties as Miss Kentucky.

Miss Kentucky serves as the official spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, where she will work to try to travel to all 120 counties within the Commonwealth, going into classrooms, going into different events throughout the state through her year.

Miss Kentucky is a full-time job.

A lot of people aren't aware of that.

During my year of service, I completed over 400 appearances and traveled over 45,000 miles across Kentucky.

And I really wanted to be someone that could represent all Kentuckians of all different types of backgrounds, and it was just such a joy to connect with so many different types of people across our state during that year.

So, when I talk to young ladies who are competing in the system or who want to compete, I encourage them that this should not just be one thing all of your life.

This journey is there to help you grow as an individual, and it's not just about the crown.

If you're only looking at that one title, you're missing the opportunity of all that can be.

I want young ladies to think about the totality of what they're gaining and not just winning something.

Because if you look at it with just winning the thing, you will miss so much that should be a part of the journey of competing for Miss Kentucky and Miss America.

I live by the quote, a dream deferred is not a dream denied.

And it's easy, as pageant girls, to get down on yourself and ask why they didn't pick you that year, but there is always something greater in store.

And even though it may not be your year this year, it doesn't mean that next year couldn't be your year.

I think a lot of people get caught up in the glitz and glamour of pageantry and don't really realize that we are actually people underneath this shiny hat, because the Miss America organization, like I said before, has shaped me into who I am.

We empower women through education, leadership, and service, and it's opportunities that you can't get anywhere else.

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