Union native busy preparing

for state pageant next month

Staff Writer

Since December, Leah Lawson has been a queen with duties in three counties.

She spent the first 13 years of her life in Union - most of her family is here. In 2007, she and her parents, Greg and Kim Lawson, moved to Laurens County when Greg became football coach at Laurens District High School.

On Dec. 2, she was crowned Miss Cherokee County Teen. She began promoting her platform, “T.V. Time” (Teen Volunteer Time) and preparing for the state pageant, in which she will compete the week of July 4.

“I have learned so much,” said the 14-year-old rising sophomore. “I have been traveling and talking with people who really want to start volunteering. I saw many things I wouldn't have gotten to see if I hadn't been crowned Miss Cherokee County Teen.”

Saturday, Miss Lawson and the other contestants will report to Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium for a practice session and then travel to the Greenville Drive baseball game where they will be introduced. The game also will feature a salute to textile baseball teams.

On June 28, the 41 contestants for Miss South Carolina Teen will check into Spartanburg's Marriott hotel, pageant headquarters. With the 51 Miss South Carolina contestants they will take the traditional trips to Krispy Kreme donuts, the Beacon Drive-In and other local landmarks.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (July 1-3) beginning at 2 p.m. Miss Lawson will compete in pageant preliminaries. Preliminaries for the Miss South Carolina contestants will be held those same days at 8 p.m.

On Friday, July 4, a gala honoring returning soldiers will be held.

The top five teen contestants will be announced earlier in the day on Saturday, July 5. The Miss South Carolina Pageant begins at 8 p.m. and both Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen will be crowned.

For her talent, Miss Lawson will sing “Journey to the Past,” from the Disney animated move, “Anastasia.”

During the evening wear preliminary, contestants are required to answer an on-stage question. To prepare for this and the interview with the judges, Miss Lawson has been studying with interview coach Sam Raney, the father of former Miss South Carolina Jenna Raney.

“I've been learning the cost of gas, alternative fuels and politics,” she said.

Contestants also will compete in physical fitness and Miss Lawson has been working out to prepare for this.

As Miss Cherokee County Teen, she has distributed over 1,000 pamphlets she created describing her platform.

She participated in Adopt a Highway, and a 5-K run at USC-Upstate that raised $5,000 for Children's Miracle Network, an organization the Miss South Carolina Pageant benefits. She and other contestants are involved in a project to raise one million pennies for the CMN and each has a bank she designed herself for collection. In Cherokee County, her activities have included participating in “Taste of Cherokee” to benefit the American Red Cross chapter there, and the Irish Festival. At the first Limestone College baseball game of the season, Miss Lawson sang the National Anthem and got to meet former coach Gaylord Perry, who was being inducted into the school's hall of fame. She will help kick off the Peach Festival today.

All at the same time, Miss Lawson has managed to keep her grades up and remain active in school. She is ranked in the top 10 academically out of 515 students in her class. She is a varsity cheerleader, sings in the concert choir, is involved with the youth at her church, First Baptist of Laurens; studies river dancing at Ultimate Rhythm Dance Studio in Union, and plays the piano. In her spare time, she enjoys snow skiing, fishing and tennis.

She is the younger sister to siblings Clift and Lauren and the granddaughter of Linda and Floyd Carter and Joe and Susan Lawson of Union and R.L. Mease of Florida. Her great-grandmother is Juanita Comer of Union.

When Miss Lawson was 4, she was crowned Little Miss Uniquely Union. At 5, she was Little Miss Union County Fair. In May of 2006 she won the Miss South Carolina Sunburst Pre-Teen Pageant. In August of 2006 she was crowned Sunburst International Pre-Teen Queen. There were 65 contestants from the United States and nearby countries, including Canada and Puerto Rico.

Miss Lawson said she appreciates the help others have given her as she prepares for the pageant.

“I thank my family and friends, former Miss Unions and my Palmetto Princesses - Mollie Ashley and Maggie Grace Genoble - and Prince Isaac Fowler,” she said.

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(Those interested in tickets for the Miss South Carolina Teen Pageant may call Miss Lawson at (864) 682-8509 or the box office at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium at (864) 582-8107 or go on line at www.ticketmaster.com.)