Trent set to pass on her crown

Local News

July 11, 2011

By Bill Robinson Senior News Writer The Richmond Register Mon Jul 11, 2011, 12:15 AM EDT

RICHMOND — Djuan Trent, a Berea College graduate who won the Miss Kentucky title last July, will crown her successor on Saturday night at the Singletary Center in Lexington.

Six young women with Madison County connections, even if they do not permanently reside here, will be vying to claim the Miss Kentucky crown. The six either attend college in Madison County or have won a Madison County-based title.

They are:

• Ramsey Bethann Carpenter, 20, a University of Kentucky student, who holds the Miss Richmond Area title.

• Jenna Day, 19, a UK student who is Miss Berea Area.

• Jamie Beth Nunnery, 19, a Berea College student who is Miss Appalachia Area.

• Elizabeth Hood, 24, an Eastern Kentucky University student who hold the Miss Commonwealth title.

• Courtney Norvell, 19, an EKU student who is Miss Elizabethtown Area.

• Andrea Leigh Walker, 21, an EKU student who holds the Miss Heart of Kentucky title.

The Miss Richmond Area and Miss Berea Area pageants are directed by Brenda Upton of Berea. The pageants took place at Berea Community School in April.

Upton also is associated with three other pageants of which she is co-director, Miss Renfro Valley, Ky., Miss Appalachia Area and Miss Thoroughbred. Those pageants took place at the Renfro Valley entertainment center in February.

Trent, who grew up in Columbus, Ga., said she has enjoyed her year as Miss Kentucky, especially in her official capacity of spokesperson for the state Agriculture Department’s Kentucky Proud program.

In that role, she visited more than 200 Kentucky schools talking about Kentucky Proud, which primarily promotes the state’s farm products. In addition to boosting Kentucky agriculture, the role also has allowed her to teach children about the importance of good nutrition, Trent said, especially including fruits and vegetables in their diets and to consider careers in agriculture.

“I also talked to the children about the importance of taking advantage of their educational opportunities to be successful in life,” she said.

Trent also got to promote her Miss Kentucky platform, combating homelessness.

She personally lobbied several state legislators to support a bill passed in the General Assembly’s 2011 session that allows homeless people to obtain a government identification card for $4, instead of the $11 cost for a driver’s license.

Most Americans use a driver’s license as their primary government issued photo identification when applying for a job. People who cannot afford a place to live, often cannot afford $11 for a driver’s license, much less obtain an automobile to take a driver’s exam. Without a job, earning enough money to pay for your own shelter is hardly possible.

The new ID system is another step toward helping homeless people overcome the vicious circle that holds them back, Trent said. The IDs can be obtained from the same offices that issue drivers’ licenses.

Perhaps her most memorable experience in a year that has “flown by” for the theater-performance major has been acting in a play about homelessness, she said.

Titled, “Please Don’t Call Me Homeless; I Don’t Call You Homed,” it is a series of vignettes about the experience of homelessness, she said.

Each performance included some players who are or have been homeless, she said. None of then had any training or experience in acting.

For someone who has been acting since second grade, Trent said seeing people with no experience get up and share their personal stories with people they do not know was amazing.

Without visiting the campus, Trent decided to attend Berea College based on the experience of a friend who was educated at the southern Madison County institution.

“I really value the education I got at Berea,” she said.

While watching the 2009 Miss America pageant with a friend, Trent remarked, “I believe I could do that.” Her friend then said, “Well, why don’t you?”

She started entering pageants and won the Miss Carter County title, which put her in the Miss Kentucky Pageant that year. She finished in the top 10, and then came back the following year with the Miss Berea Area crown and won the state title. She was the first contestant from Berea to win Miss Kentucky since 1953.

Trent finished sixth in the Miss America pageant, singing “Up to the Mountain” for her talent.

She plans to work the remainder of 2011, and then enroll in graduate school in January, using the scholarship money that came with her titles.

Her education may keep Trent in Kentucky as UK is on her list of potential graduate schools. She would like to study entertainment-related business.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.

Text Only

Local News

Paradise Cove open through Labor Day Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
May 26, 2012
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Pets of the Week from the Madison County Animal Shelter
The Madison County Animal Shelter is located at 1386 Richmond Road in Berea. Shelter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Animals available for adoption can be seen from noon to close Monday through Saturday. The adoption fee for cats and kittens is $10. Puppies and grown dogs may be adopted for $25. Adoptions include a free veterinary exam, a first series of vaccinations, a discount on spaying and neutering, free licensing and de-worming. Call the shelter at 986-9625.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
A big sister’s reflection on life, love and changes
Yesterday was my Little Sister’s graduation. This one, though, was especially important to me.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Veterans will conduct Memorial Day programs
Although Memorial Day weekend may be a time of picnics and barbecue for many, some will be observing the day’s original meaning.

May 24, 2012
EKU Arts Center attendance tops 50,000 mark
The Center for the Arts at Eastern Kentucky University has played host during its inaugural season to more than 50,500 guests from more than 30 states and abroad, according to data released by EKU.

May 24, 2012 3 Photos
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Trent set to pass on her crown

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Site Map