Kacy Hartmann is ready for the spotlight. On Feb. 5, the Elizabethtown Area High School junior competed in the Miss Lancaster County Scholarship Organization's Outstanding Teen competition. Although she didn't win a title this time around, she said the experience was unforgettable.
"I had a lot of fun, and I met so many amazing, authentic women there," she said. "I was able to talk about something I felt passionate about while hearing the same from others. Rather than being a group of competitors, we were a sisterhood of friends who only wished the best for each other."
At the competition, held at Ephrata Performing Arts Center, Kacy presented her social impact initiative: Speech Is K.E.Y., with K.E.Y. standing for Knowledge, Experience and Youth Activism. "By giving teens the knowledge of public speaking, the environment to gain experience expressing their ideas and the encouragement to spread youth activities, Speech Is K.E.Y. empowers adolescents to make a difference in their community through the use of public speaking," Kacy explained.
Kacy competed against six other teens in the Outstanding Teen category of the competition; the competition also included 12 women vying for the title of Miss Lancaster County. Elements of the event included a talent portion, for which Kacy sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from "The Phantom of the Opera," as well as a lifestyle and fitness routine and an evening wear portion.
As Kacy explained, the Miss Lancaster County Scholarship Organization is the local division of the Miss America Organization. "There's often a misconception that the Miss America Organization is just a beauty pageant, but this myth couldn't be farther from the truth," she stated. "The organization strives to be for all women, placing inner beauty on a higher pedestal than the outer."
The competition helps women earn scholarships to further their education, she noted, and empowers women to make a difference in their community through their social impact initiatives.
Kacy, who is the daughter of Brian and Sheila Hartmann, said she's looking forward to the future. "My ambition is to go to college for a major in music," she stated, noting that she loves to write, read, sew and participate in the performing arts in her free time. "Once I graduate from college, my career ambition is to be a music artist so I may share my thoughts, feelings and ideas with those who wish to listen."
Kacy learned about the competition in 2020 when she attended to support a friend who was taking part. She decided to compete herself, but the event was canceled in 2021. She finally got her chance to shine on stage after a two-year wait and said the experience was everything she hoped it would be. "I had heard about the Miss America pageant at a young age, and my younger self believed that I wasn't good enough to compete in the pageant," she stated. "I decided to prove my younger self wrong while being able to spread a platform that I care deeply about."
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