Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

AKRON — Rachel Luce shares something in common with 2022 Miss Akron 4th of July Kinsey Atkins, who passed her title to Luce.

Both girls won the honor in their first times ever competing in any pageant.

Luce, 18, Akron, was crowned the 2023 Miss Akron in the pageant held Sunday, July 2, at the Akron Community Center. The recent Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate and daughter of Andrew and Amy Luce won over four other girls.

She said she was “kind of shocked” to be Miss Akron due to never being in a pageant before.

“I just wanted to try it out,” she said of deciding to enter. “I’m really honored to be able to represent my community this way.”

Luce is already set to enter her second pageant Friday, July 7, for the role of Miss Fulton County fair queen.

“I’m just very blessed and excited to have all the people supporting me and be able to have this opportunity,” she added of being Miss Akron.

The competition included onstage questions.

Luce’s question was “How would your friends describe you?”

“My friends would describe me as loyal, determined and probably a little bit silly,” she answered.

For her evening attire, Luce wore a fitted, floor-length black gown with one ruffled shoulder. She donned a striped sheath dress with a light pink blazer and light colored pumps for her business wear.

For her introductory outfit to show off her personality and interests, Luce wore a scrub shirt from Webb’s Family Pharmacy, where she’s worked as a pharmacy tech in training. She also wore pink Converse tennis shoes and her favorite jeans, had her TVHS letterman jacket slung over her shoulder with an Indiana Wesleyan University pin to reflect where she will attend college, carried her Bible and had an opal ring which was originally her great-great-aunt’s.

Luce’s future plan is to attend pharmacy school following her studying Christian ministries with a concentration in pre-pharmacy at IWU.

Her court includes first runner-up Taylor McGriff.

McGriff, 16, Akron, is the daughter of Stacey McGriff. She will start her junior year at Tippecanoe Valley High School in the fall.

Her onstage question was “What makes you proud of your generation?”

“Everyone is just so kind and willing to help you when you need it,” she said in part.

Her evening attire was a midnight blue A-line gown with a V-neck and a sparkly belt. For her business attire, she wore a gray plaid sheath dress with sleeves and black pumps.

Her introductory outfit consisted of flared jeans and cowboy boots to reflect her passion for country music and a red T-shirt. She also wore her Miss Sparkler sash from 2012 and an apron belonging to her grandmother, whom she learned to bake from. She also carried her camera to show her interest in photography.

Rounding out the court was second runner-up and Miss Congeniality Chesnee Miller.

The Akron 17-year-old is the daughter of Blake and Kim Miller. She starts her senior year at Tippecanoe Valley High School this fall.

She was asked: “If you could give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?”

“The piece of advice I would give my younger self is just to always be confident and be true to yourself and also just to be kind to others,” said Miller.

She wore a nude fitted off the shoulder gown overlaid with a black design for her evening wear. Her business attire was a black and white houndstooth ensemble with a peplum top and black pumps with straps.

She donned her favorite leggings, TVHS cross-country shirt, running shoes and show number from 4-H for her introductory outfit. She carried a basketball, her spiked track and field shoes and her water bottle and wore a medal she won for running, with her time then setting a school record.

Other contestants were Makenlie Lambert and Brooklyne White.

Before the pageant, the winners of the Akron Las Donas Club’s Penny-a-Vote Cute Baby Contest were announced.

Ava Gagnon, the daughter of Nick and Crystal Gagnon, was the winner. Second place was Dayton Smith, the son of T.J. and Jillian Smith; and third place was Lincoln Mosley, the son of Travis Mosley and Diana Rosas.

The Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker competitions also occurred. Sadie Thomas, the daughter of Kyle and Sara Thomas, was named Miss Sparkler, and A.J. Kimmel, the son of Sam and Raeanne Kimmel, Mr. Firecracker.