Monday, June 21, 1999
Miss Ky. 'went for broke' to win crown
Now it's on to Miss America pageant
BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
She knows she wore it Saturday night.
And she'll be the first to tell you she earned it.
But Miss Louisville Heather Renee' French was so excited after being named Miss Kentucky that she doesn't remember anyone placing the coveted crown on her.
“I honestly don't even remember the crown even touching my head,” Miss French said. “I was that stunned.”
Miss French, a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati studying fashion design, is the second UC student in two years to win a statewide pageant. Cheya Watkins of Evendale was named Miss Ohio last year.
This is the fourth time Miss French, 24, of Maysville, Ky. — 50 miles east of Cincinnati — has competed in the pageant.
She sang “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from the musical Sunset Boulevard and chose as her platform Project Hope — Aiding Homeless Vietnam Veterans.
It's an issue she feels passionate about because her father, Ron French, is a Vietnam vet.
From her previous pageant appearances — where Miss French was third runner-up two years in a row — she has won $12,000 in scholarship money, said her mother, Diana French of Maysville. Miss French won another $12,000 scholarship Saturday with her state title.
So what was the difference this year? “I think going to graduate school has made me grow up more,” Miss French said. “I knew this was now or never, so I went for broke.”
She changed her talent song and won the preliminary talent award for her performance Friday, she said.
Miss French's victory was big news in Maysville. Her mother came home from the Lexington pageant Sunday and found her yard dotted with balloons and signs from friends and neighbors.
Heather is “very intelligent, articulate, mature; a hard worker,” Mrs. French said. “She's dedicated and committed to whatever she puts her mind to do. She gives her all. ... She's treated other people as she would want them to treat her.”
Miss French is beginning preparations for the Miss America Pageant Sept. 18 in Atlantic City, N.J.
She'll take a year off at UC — where she received her bachelor's — to fulfill her duties as Miss Kentucky, which include speeches and appearances.
Then she plans return to UC to get a master's and become a fashion designer.
She hopes to return to Cincinnati to teach fashion design and drawing at UC.
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