MISS LOUISA ORGANIZATION MAKES VIRGINIA HISTORY WITH NATIONAL MISS AMERICA LEADERSHIP AWARD

LOUISA, Va. — The Miss Louisa Organization has been named the first Virginia recipient of the National Local Leadership Award presented by the Miss America Organization, earning national recognition for the local organization and its work supporting and developing young women.

The award was announced Sept. 5 during the State/Local Leadership Breakfast held as part of Miss America competition week in West Palm Beach, Florida.

For Miss Louisa Organization Executive Director Casey Hollins, the recognition carries particular meaning because her own involvement with the Miss America program began as a contestant.

“I’m still trying to process what this recognition means,” Hollins said. “Twenty-six years ago, I was the young woman wearing the Miss Louisa crown and walking onto the Miss Virginia stage for the first time. I could never have imagined that all these years later, I would help bring this organization back — or that the Miss Louisa Organization would one day become the first organization in Virginia to receive this national recognition. There are moments in life when you realize things have come full circle. This is certainly one of them.”

The recognition carries special significance for both Hollins and Co-Executive Director Sarah Werner Ellis. Hollins became the first Miss Louisa to compete at Miss Virginia in 2000 and crowned Ellis as Miss Louisa 2001. Following a two-decade absence, Hollins revived the local organization three years ago, reconnecting its history with a new generation of participants.

“What began as part of our own journeys has become an opportunity to invest in the journeys of so many other young women,” Ellis said. “We have watched our titleholders gain confidence, discover their voices and make a genuine difference through service. This award affirms the work being done by everyone who gives their time, talent and heart to the Miss Louisa Organization and the Miss Virginia Opportunity.”

The Miss Louisa Organization is a local preliminary organization within the Miss Virginia and Miss America Opportunity. The organization provides young women with opportunities to earn scholarships, strengthen communication and leadership skills, showcase their talents and advance community-service initiatives.

The Miss Louisa Organization will kick off the 2027 pageant season for all of Virginia as the first local preliminary of the year on September 19 in Louisa County at the Louisa Arts Center.

The organization has seen its titleholders achieve success at the state level. At the 2026 Miss Virginia competition, Miss Hanover County Alexia Williams (also formerly Miss Louisa County 2025) earned the prestigious quality of life award, a preliminary onstage interview award, and placed in the Top 10. In the Teen competition, Miss Louisa County’s Teen Samantha Scott and Miss Hanover County’s Teen Lexie Hovey placed among the top five finalists, earned preliminary onstage interview awards and placed among the top three for the prestigious Quality of Life award.

But Hollins said the organization measures its success by more than competition results.

“When I started Miss Louisa, I didn’t want to simply produce a pageant,” Hollins said. “I wanted to build an organization that poured into young women — one that gave them opportunities to grow, serve, lead and discover what they are capable of. The crown is one part of the experience. What happens to these young women because someone believed in them is the part that lasts.”

For Hollins, the work also represents a full-circle experience.

“I can trace so many of the skills I use today such as public speaking, interviewing, communication, confidence and leadership back to opportunities I was given through this very program,” she said. “To now be in a position to give those opportunities to another generation of young women is incredibly meaningful.”

Miss America describes its local competitions as opportunities for participants to represent their communities, share their stories and grow through community service and sisterhood. The national organization also emphasizes the development of skills including public speaking, advocacy, fundraising, leadership and personal branding.

The Miss America Organization, founded in 1921, continues to focus nationally on scholarship, service and leadership development. This year, more than $300,000 in tuition scholarships are being awarded through the Miss America and Miss America’s Teen national competitions in West Palm Beach.

Hollins added that the national recognition is not a finish line for the organization.

“We are incredibly proud of what we have built, but we are still building,” Hollins said. “There are more young women to reach, more opportunities to create and more ways we can serve. To know that work happening right here in Louisa has been recognized nationally is something I will never forget.”

Contestants from across Virginia can still enter to compete for the titles of Miss Louisa County, Miss Louisa County’s Teen, Miss Hanover County and Miss Hanover County’s Teen. The pageant will be held September 19 at the Louisa Arts Center.  For more information, visit MissLouisaVA.org.