Miss Richland County Teen Volunteer, Grace McPherson, Continues To Serve The Community

July 10-16 young women and girls from across the state of Montana gathered at the Dawson County High School auditorium in Glendive. It was the 2022 Miss Montana Volunteer Program.

Grace McPherson, a junior at Fairview High School went to the pageant this summer with Liliana Johnson, Lily Jones, and Brynlee McNally. Grace did not win at the Miss Montana Volunteer Pageant but, contestants who do not win a state title may take a regional one so that they may stay in the program. She came home with the Miss Richland County Teen Volunteer title. This year, her platform is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness. She has a ton of projects she's currently working on and helping with, like helping out at the nursing homes in the area. She also works with others to organize awareness events to warn against diving into untested bodies of water. 2021's Miss Montana Volunteer winner, Brielle Gorder is a relative of Grace and encouraged her to participate in June.

According to the Miss Montana Volunteer Program website, http://www.missmontanavolunteer.org, the Miss Montana Volunteer Program is driven by a single goal; empowering the young women and girls of Montana. They strive to build productive relationships and make a positive impact with all of their pursuits and they are volunteers working to educate and inspire their next generation of volunteers. The competitors stand to acquire more than a little scholarship money whether they win or not. A contestant will quickly learn a lot of skills that are needed to compete in the program. The girls will need to learn to present and work with people, skills that will take them far once they enter the workforce. They also gain a lot of friends and acquaintances among the contestants. McPherson said, "I highly encourage everyone to try it out and join. I never imagined myself joining a pageant. It changed my life."