ST. GEORGE — Ava Korn is a veteran of beauty pageants and won 2022 All American Girl Mini Miss at the national All American Girl Youth Development Program in Las Vegas in July. She also is 7 years old.

The Hurricane second grader has competed in pageants for four years. Her mother, Rebekah Korn, said this is her daughter’s first national win.

“The pageant focuses on natural beauty, poise, public speaking and personality,” Korn said. “It allows all participants the opportunity to compete equally in the program. Not only that, but they create a lifetime of friendships, and we become family.”

 Ava said she enjoyed meeting other girls in her age group. She keeps in touch with the other contestants throughout the year.

 “My favorite part of the pageants is making new friends,” she said. 

Ava also said she enjoyed themed parties the national pageant staged each evening for the girls and their mothers. And she liked the fun fashion category when she took to the stage.

For the talent portion, Ava sang, danced and cartwheeled to the song “This is Me” from the movie soundtrack of “The Greatest Showman.”

In addition to playing pranks on her dad, watching movies and sleeping, Ava said she also enjoys learning about computers at her school, Valley Academy in Hurricane.

The website states the pageant is “Dedicated to promoting positive pageantry by celebrating today’s girls and tomorrow’s leaders in a fun family-friendly natural program.”

The pageant also focuses on natural beauty, poise, personality, community service and public speaking.

A vital element of the experience is a service project to benefit the charity Autism Speaks, the official charity for the All American Girls Youth Development Program nationally.

Ava said these fundraisers helped her become a better person. The local group bowls and every participant in the pageant must bring a certain amount of money for a charitable contribution. One participant’s grandfather lets the winner shave his head.

According to the organization’s website, the All American Girl Youth Development Program aims to improve young girls’ and teens’ self-confidence. Competitions are held at the local, state and national levels. 

The program was created by Lisa Williams and Tracy Hales of Washington state.

“By teaching young girls to be proud of who they are, we can affect their confidence for a lifetime,” Williams stated on the website.

Korn said that participants from birth to 26 make the pageant more of a youth development type program. 

“Because really, what the goals are for the national and state directors is to develop the youth; you take them from babies into young women,” Korn said.

Korn noted there’s so much more than clothes and dresses or what the girls look like on stage. For example, 50% of a girl’s score is determined by an interview. 

“This is because they want to know the girl as a person and is way more important than what she looks like on stage,” Korn said.

The organization holds activities throughout the year, such as trips to Disneyland and fundraisers for charity. The national winners will be traveling to the Dominican Republic this year.  

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