Staff Report

AKRON — Five girls are hoping to be named the 2023 Miss Akron 4th of July.

Miss Akron 2022 Kinsey Atkins will crown her successor on Sunday, July 2, at the Akron Community Center.

Events Sunday begin with the announcement of the Akron Las Donas Club’s Cute Baby Contest winners at 5:15 p.m., followed by the Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker competitions at 5:30 p.m. and the pageant afterward.

Miss Akron contestants this year in alphabetical order are: Makenlie Lambert, Rachel Luce, Taylor McGriff, Chesnee Miller and Brooklyne White.

Below is more information about each contestant:

Makenlie Lambert

Lambert is the daughter of Chad and Devan Lambert and the sister of Gracie Lambert.

Lambert is an incoming sophomore at Hanover College. She is majoring in biochemistry and minoring in Spanish and possibly theological studies while on the premedical track. After attending medical school, she wants to become a trauma surgeon. Her dream is to participate in a program called Doctors Without Borders where surgeons travel around the world to provide medical help.

At Hanover, she participates in cheer, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a women’s Bible study. She is also a member of Phi Mu Rho sorority. Some of her favorite things she does with the sorority are philanthropy and sisterhood events.

Her favorite philanthropy event is dance marathon through which money is raised for Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky. Lambert’s favorite sisterhood event is big little. Through it, she found out which sister would be her mentor during her time in her sorority.

Lambert is a member of LaFontaine Christian Church and part of a young adult’s small group there. Some of her hobbies have included volunteering for the Red Cross and checking people in to donate blood while getting to meet and speak to members of her community.

She also enjoys spending time with her family, being at the softball field while watching her sister, Gracie, and being outside. She also likes spending time with her younger cousins and babysitting them.

Lambert is currently employed at CVS Pharmacy as a retail associate and a pharmacy tech. There, she enjoys helping her community members find what they need in the retail area and learning about all the new medicines she is working with.

Rachel Luce

Luce is the 18-year-old daughter of Andrew and Amy Luce and the sister of Leonora Everson.

She resides in Akron. Luce recently graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School where she was involved in Peer Facilitators, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Sunshine Committee. She also served as National Honor Society class advisor and student council class president for two years. She loved serving her school through her officer positions.

She participated in the Fulton County Youth Leadership Academy where she loved learning more about her community. Luce enjoys spending her free time outside enjoying nature or hanging out with her friends. She also serves at Warsaw Community Church in the youth programs.

Each summer, Luce serves at Camp with an Impact, a summer camp hosted by WCC, where she loves getting to witness the students grow in their faith. She works at Webb’s Family Pharmacy as a pharmacy tech in training. She loves building connections with patients and learning more about medicine.

Luce plans to attend Indiana Wesleyan University in the fall and major in Christian ministries with a concentration in pre-pharmacy. She hopes to go to pharmacy school after completing her undergraduate degree.

Taylor McGriff

McGriff is the daughter of Stacey McGriff and has one sister, Emily.

She will be a junior at Tippecanoe Valley High School in the upcoming school year. In her free time, McGriff enjoys spending time with her family and cooking and baking. She loves spending time in the kitchen creating some of her family’s favorites for gatherings, such as spinach and artichoke dip.

McGriff also likes swimming, being outside, listening to music and taking pictures of all the beauty nature provides. She is a member of the Akron Church of God.

As a server at Jonsey’s Junction in Akron, McGriff is proud to be considered part of the “Junction Family.” At TVHS, she has participated in volleyball and choir.

Annually at Halloween, she volunteers at the Hartzler’s Halloween Bash, where she helps provide a safe community trick or treat opportunity for local children and their families. In her free time, McGriff enjoys babysitting for children of family and friends.

After she graduates from high school, she plans to attend college and major in social work. As a career, McGriff would like to work with and aid children with special needs.

Chesnee Miller

Miller is the 17-year-old daughter of Blake and Kim Miller.

She resides in Akron. Miller is going to be a senior this fall at Tippecanoe Valley High School.

She is active in cross-country, basketball, track and field, National Honor Society, the Fulton County Leadership Academy and Terri Eckert School of Dance and a member of the Peer Facilitators class.

Miller enjoys spending time with her family and friends and loves baking. Her specialty is
chocolate chip cookies, but she is up for trying any new recipe.

Miller was named first runner-up in the 2022 Miss Akron pageant. Her future plans include finishing high school in the upcoming year with hopes of having her first year of college completed based on her class schedule. Miller then plans on continuing her education at a college or university and possibly studying sports medicine.

Brooklyne White

White is the daughter of Christopher and Emily White.

She has three siblings: Colton, David and Grace. She will be a sophomore at Tippecanoe Valley High School this fall.

White enjoys working with young children. During the school year, she goes to Mentone Elementary School to help with the school’s program Bulldog Buddies. During the spring, she enjoys helping coach softball with the Valley youth leagues and being an umpire as well.

Her goal is to graduate high school with an Academic Honors Diploma. After high school, she plans to attend Grace College in Winona Lake to major in elementary education and would like to return to the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. to teach third grade.

White is on the Habitat for Humanity Board, which brings her joy since the organization helps families by providing them with a house and the support they need. She is also a varsity cheerleader and on the softball team.

During cheer season, she went to practice, then to help elementary teachers by grading papers or to coach the Little League basketball at the high school. During softball season, she went from practice to collecting jars for Miss Mentone and helping around with other things like planting the flowers around Mentone.

White’s hobbies include softball, cheerleading, coloring and instructing younger kids in new things.