KEAUHOU — Coffee is beautiful a thing, and what better way to present something beautiful than a talented young woman who is driven to succeed? The Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii Scholarship Pageant crowned its 2017 royalty on Saturday at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay.
Jessica Lloyd, a 20-year-old graduate of Kealakehe High School and Hawaii Community College — Palamanui, took home the title of Miss Kona Coffee 2017 with her talent of contemporary dance. Miss Aloha Hawaii 2017 is 18-year-old Piper Pearson, a graduate of Kealakehe High School and current student at Hawaii Community College — Palamanui. Her talent was vocals.
Lloyd and Pearson will both represent the Island of Hawaii at the statewide pageant on Oahu at the Miss Hawaii Scholarship Pageant in June of 2017.
“We consider ourselves to be an achievement program, so at the end of the day, we’re really trying to build self-confidence and the ability to speak in public,” said Tracey Apoliona, executive director of Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii Scholarship Pageant. “The winners make numerous public appearances. They must qualify in the interview, swim suit, talent, evening wear and on-stage question. We are also a preliminary to the Miss Hawaii Pageant, which is preliminary to the Miss America program.”
The goal of the Miss Kona Coffee and the Miss Aloha Hawaii Scholarship Pageant, is to provide young women the opportunity to represent Kona and its long-standing traditions of coffee culture. The participants take honor in representing the internationally acclaimed Kona coffee, as well the knowledge required to share this proud heritage with others.
By competing, these young ladies will grow personally and professionally, refine their public speaking skills, become comfortable with the media, share their voice and viewpoints with a large audience, and transform into role models that touch all generations. The Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii Scholarship Pageant is truly an achievement program. It reflects a tradition of style, sophistication, and service. And, Miss Kona Coffee will represent Kona and Hawaii abroad with a trip to Japan, where she will be an ambassador for the entire State promoting goodwill, culture, and aloha.
“The participants all go on to pursue college degrees and become professionals in their fields of choice,” said Apoliona. They all get something out of the program. We enjoy working with the young ladies and enjoy having them be part of the program. But for the most part, they all go on and try to achieve what it is they are setting their minds out to do.”
The Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii pageants help the contestants achieve their goals by offering scholarships to assist them in completing their college education.
“It’s a scholarship program that offers both cash scholarships and tuition scholarships to the winners,” said Apoliona. “Most of the time contestants compete because they want to try and win scholarship money. Jessica has a culinary arts degree and she’s pursuing higher education in culinary arts and a business degree. Piper is currently a student at Palamanui, so again it’s all scholarship driven.”
In June of 2017, Lloyd and Pearson will both compete in the Miss Hawaii 2016 Scholarship Pageant.