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Fort Madison's Houston competes in Homecoming Queen pageant
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| Ashley Houston |
By Brennan Umthun/MVM News Network
FORT MADISON - One of Fort Madison's very own has been bestowed with a great honor, a distinction that only one young woman in the entire state can receive.
Last January we told you about Fort Madison High School's reigning homecoming queen, Ashley Houston, and how she was invited to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl as part of the American Homecoming Queen pageant.
At that time, she was one of four finalists vying for the Iowa Homecoming Queen crown.
“I was in Las Vegas with my dad a few weeks ago, when I got a phone call,” she said. “They told me that I was the second runner-up in the Iowa contest, but the two girls ahead of me wouldn't be able to go to the national contest because they both had been affected by the flood. One girl lived in Boone and the other one lived in Cedar Rapids.”
Houston was quite surprised that she was suddenly Iowa's Homecoming Queen, which meant she had just won a free trip to California to compete in the America's Homecoming Queen pageant.
“I didn't even know I was second runner-up in the Iowa pageant,” she said with a laugh. “I was surprised.”
Keep in mind, Houston was in Las Vegas; but she didn't have to bet large to hit the jackpot ... an all expenses paid trip to Anaheim, Calif.
“The trip was to take place Aug. 3 through the 8th,” she said. “But we went out on the 30th and made a family vacation out of it.”
The national pageant took place at Disneyland in Anaheim, where Houston had to jump through the normal pageantry hoops that come with seeking a crown.
“I interviewed with judges of course,” she said. “And then we had to do the whole formal gown thing, with a runway walk. We also had to make a two-minute video about ourselves and tell how we participate in our school and our community.”
Houston, who is known by many as a community-minded, intelligent athlete, said she was grateful for the experience.
“It was a really fun experience,” she said. “I'm not really the pageant type, but I met some great people and I had a lot of fun.”
She said she wasn't a runner-up at the national pageant, though she did win the public relations award for the amount of support she had from the local community.
“Arkansas' Homecoming Queen won the whole thing,” she said.
For her accomplishment, Houston received a scholarship that can be used toward college expenses.
Houston will be a freshman at Grandview College in Des Moines, where she will study physical education and compete on the track team, with hope that one day she will become an athletic director.
But how many athletic directors can say they were once Iowa's Homecoming Queen?
Last January we told you about Fort Madison High School's reigning homecoming queen, Ashley Houston, and how she was invited to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl as part of the American Homecoming Queen pageant.
At that time, she was one of four finalists vying for the Iowa Homecoming Queen crown.
“I was in Las Vegas with my dad a few weeks ago, when I got a phone call,” she said. “They told me that I was the second runner-up in the Iowa contest, but the two girls ahead of me wouldn't be able to go to the national contest because they both had been affected by the flood. One girl lived in Boone and the other one lived in Cedar Rapids.”
Houston was quite surprised that she was suddenly Iowa's Homecoming Queen, which meant she had just won a free trip to California to compete in the America's Homecoming Queen pageant.
“I didn't even know I was second runner-up in the Iowa pageant,” she said with a laugh. “I was surprised.”
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“The trip was to take place Aug. 3 through the 8th,” she said. “But we went out on the 30th and made a family vacation out of it.”
The national pageant took place at Disneyland in Anaheim, where Houston had to jump through the normal pageantry hoops that come with seeking a crown.
“I interviewed with judges of course,” she said. “And then we had to do the whole formal gown thing, with a runway walk. We also had to make a two-minute video about ourselves and tell how we participate in our school and our community.”
Houston, who is known by many as a community-minded, intelligent athlete, said she was grateful for the experience.
“It was a really fun experience,” she said. “I'm not really the pageant type, but I met some great people and I had a lot of fun.”
She said she wasn't a runner-up at the national pageant, though she did win the public relations award for the amount of support she had from the local community.
“Arkansas' Homecoming Queen won the whole thing,” she said.
For her accomplishment, Houston received a scholarship that can be used toward college expenses.
Houston will be a freshman at Grandview College in Des Moines, where she will study physical education and compete on the track team, with hope that one day she will become an athletic director.
But how many athletic directors can say they were once Iowa's Homecoming Queen?
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