Kinsey Atkins was crowned the 2022 Miss Akron 4th of July on Friday, July 1, at the Akron Community Center. From left: Contestants Shaylin Wilcox and Avery Prater, Atkins, first runner-up Chesnee Miller and second-runner up and Miss Congeniality Kaydence Shepherd. InkFreeNews photos by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

AKRON — Kinsey Atkins decided to enter the Miss Akron 4th of July pageant this year.

It was her first time ever in a pageant, and she won.

Atkins, 17, was crowned Miss Akron on Friday, July 1, by 2021 Miss Akron Kayleena Agnew. She topped four other girls to win the title.

“I honestly was not expecting it,” she told InkFreeNews after the competition. “It feels good though. It’s a good title.”

The soon-to-be senior at Triton Junior-Senior High School said she decided to enter the contest “just to try something new.” She’s the daughter of Kevin and Krista Atkins.

Part of the competition involved an impromptu onstage question. Atkins’ was: “What is the best advice that your parents have ever given to you?”

“The best advice I’ve ever gotten from my parents is to work hard for what you want and to put your mind to anything that you can imagine, you can do it,” she answered.

For the evening gown portion of the competition, Atkins wore a red A-line gown with spaghetti straps and a V-neck top and black high heel sandals. For her professional wear, she wore a black skirt suit with a red blouse with white polka dots and black high heel sandals.

For her introductory outfit to showcase her personality and interests, Atkins wore a lab coat to reflect her future plans of studying biomedical science. She also wore her Triton volleyball jersey and shorts for travel basketball, a pin she received for participating in Hoosier Girls State, her favorite Birkenstock sandals and a necklace she received from her grandmother.

Part of Atkins’ court was made up of first runner-up Chesnee Miller.

She’s the 16-year-old daughter of Blake and Kim Miller and will soon be a junior at Tippecanoe Valley High School.

For her onstage question, she was asked: “If you could add an event to the Akron Fourth of July festival, what would it be and why?”

“The event that I would add to the Fourth of July would be a dunk tank because it’s always hot for the Fourth and a little splash would be needed,” she said.

She wore a fitted iridescent gown with wide straps and nude pumps for her evening wear. For her professional wear, she wore a green sheath dress with flutter sleeves and nude pumps.

For her introductory outfit, she wore her Valley cross-country T-shirt, jeans and boots that she wears to compete in 4-H and gold hoop earrings from her mother. She also had a basketball and her track spikes to show her participation in those sports.

Rounding out the court was second runner-up Kaydence Shepherd, who was also named Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.

The 18-year-old recent graduate of Tippecanoe Valley High School is the daughter of Josh and Stephanie Shepherd.

Her onstage question was: “What valuable lessons have you learned from the failures you’ve experienced in your life?”

“I would have to say that the valuable lessons I have learned from the failures of my life would have to be my choir teacher kind of bringing me down and not giving me a role, and I worked harder and got a lead role this year.”

She wore a red sparkly A-line gown with a V-neck top and front slit and nude platform sandals for her evening wear. For her professional wear, she wore a gray skirt suit with a black top and black pumps.

For her introductory outfit, she wore a Ball State University shirt to show where she’s attending college in the fall, jeans, her favorite Vans shoes and a pink flower in her hair from her role in the school play “The SpongeBob Musical.” She also carried one pom-pom to reflect her time spent in cheerleading.

The other pageant contestants included Avery Prater and Shaylin Wilcox.

Before the competition, the winners of the Akron Las Donas Club’s Penny-a-Vote Cute Baby Contest were announced. First was Hudson Madeford, second was Jaxx Hoffman and third was Olivia Hallstrom.

The Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker competitions were also held before the pageant with the winners being Minnie Groninger and Jaxton Puckett respectively.

Winning the Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker competitions held before the Miss Akron pageant were Minnie Groninger, left, and Jaxton Puckett respectively. Minnie is the daughter of Gregory and Brittani Groninger, and Jaxton is the son of Chad and Casandra Puckett.

Winners of the Akron Las Donas Club’s Penny-a-Vote Cute Baby Contest were also announced before the Miss Akron pageant. From left: Third place Olivia Hallstrom with her mother Meagan Hallstrom; second place Jaxx Hoffman held by his mother Jade Hoffman; and first place Hudson Madeford held by his mother Kaylyn Madeford.

Miss Akron 2021 Kayleena Agnew gives her farewell speech.

The Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker contestants recited the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of their competitions.

The Akron Elementary School Parent Support Group sold ice cream outside the community center on Friday night. Manning the stand were Jennifer Backus and her son Owen Backus.