Former Miss Russell County Fair and reigning Miss Virginia, Maddie Marchant, will be competing for the title of Miss America this weekend.
The Lebanon native was crowned Miss Virginia on June 26 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke.
The competition will take place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, September 6. The highly anticipated event will feature contestants from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
Marchant is the first Miss Virginia from Southwest Virginia since Pounding Mill’s Kelli Quick won the title nearly 30 years ago.
Should she win the title of Miss America, Marchant would be the second Virginia native in a row to wear the crown. Current Miss America, Cassie Donegan, is a native of Smithfield, Virginia, although she currently resides in New York.
Winning the crown would be a dream come true for Marchant. In an interview earlier this summer, she said she’s always dreamed of being Miss America.
“I entered my first pageant when I was eight-months old,” she said, noting it was the Miss Russell County Fair pageant. “I even dressed as Miss America for career day in school.”
Marchant’s platform is helping those with invisible disabilities and diseases feel seen through InvisABILITY. Her goal of helping such individuals is based on her personal experiences while growing up.
She lives with celiac disease and a thyroid disorder. Marchant is also deaf in her right ear. “I was bullied in school because of my hearing aid,” she said.
Marchant said she hopes she can be a role model to children who are currently being bullied.
“You are not defined by your disabilities,” she said. “You are so much more than that. God made you exactly the way you are for a purpose. Let that be your passion.”
Marchant has created the Buddy Bunch Club for those with disabilities to gather and make new friends.
Her fight with celiac disease has also led her to work with state Sen. Todd Pillion in an effort to have schools offer gluten-free meals and staff training to prevent cross-contamination of food.
A graduate of Lebanon High School, Marchant now attends East Tennessee State University, where she is majoring in media and communications, while pursuing a minor in political science.
The pageant can be watched free on the official Miss America YouTube Channel or via PageantVision. The broadcast will begin at 7:00 p.m. on September 6.
