Parents rallying for support
BY DIANE SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LOVELY — Seven-year-old Hadley Spence has a dream. She has been competing in beauty pageants and winning. Now her goal is to travel to Orlando at the end of June to compete in the Universal Miss Nationals, a scholarship pageant and title to Kentucky.
Her parents, Brittany and Phillip Spence of Lovely, are asking the community to help their little girl achieve her dreams through donations.
Since entering beauty pageants, Hadley has been crowned Mini Supreme Harvest Festival, Mini Supreme Miss Christmas (Christmas in the Mountains), and Candy Heart Queen. She has won Prettiest Smile, Best Eveningwear and Best Open Fashion Wear, and is the 2024 Regional Universal Miss photogenic winner, scoring platinum in all five modeling categories.
“She only began competing in pageants last July,” Brittany Spence said. “In the Florida pageant she will be competing in modeling/gown, fun fashion, interview/introduction and personality, but it does take a lot to get her there.”
Hillbilly Hibachi will be set up at the Roy F. Collier Center on March 27 to raise funds for Hadley. The Spences encourages everyone to stop by the location.
Brittany is also asking businesses to purchase advertisements in the pageant program or make donations to sponsor Hadley.
“It’s a great way to get your name out there, especially if you sell online,” she said. “People from all over the U.S. will see these ads in the program book for the Miss National pageant.”
Anyone wishing to donate can do so via PayPal: brittmeade86@gmail.com or Cash app: $4hadley.
For those interested in purchasing advertisements, the prices include full-page $200, half-page $100, quarter-page $50, and eighth-page $25.
Advertisements must be submitted print-ready in PDF or jpeg format by the pageant program deadline. Color or black-and-white advertisements are acceptable. Ads can be personal or business. Contact Brittany Spence on Facebook for more information.
Hadley is a first-grade student at Warfield Elementary School.
