Author name: Miss NC Org

Hayden Lynn Pearson was crowned Miss Wendell 2027 on Oct. 17 at Bunn High School in Bunn. She is the executive director of The Red Balloon Project, a nonprofit that creates celebrations for children facing serious illnesses, and has helped raise more than $20,000 toward them.

Baylen Clay Salyers was crowned Miss Zebulon’s Teen 2027 on Oct. 17 at Bunn High School in Bunn. Her initiative, Bumblebee Backpacks, fills new backpacks with necessities and comfort items for children entering foster care, and she has delivered 12 of them to Isaiah 117 House.

Ansleigh Thrash was crowned Miss Wendell’s Teen 2027 on Oct. 17 at Bunn High School in Bunn. Her initiative, S.W.A.T. — Safety With All Technology — teaches digital citizenship, scam recognition and online privacy to students and senior adults alike, from kindergarteners to grandparents.

Delilah Claire Hadyk was crowned Miss Statesville’s Teen 2027 on Oct. 10 at North Iredell High School in Olin, N.C. Her initiative, The Not Perfect Movement, is built on the belief that a person’s imperfections are their strengths and their differences are their powers.

Olivia Williams was crowned Miss Davidson County 2027 on Oct. 3 at T. Austin Finch Auditorium in Thomasville, bringing My Alpha Gal Family, an initiative to educate healthcare providers and first responders about the tick-borne allergy diagnosed in her mother five years ago.

Wesley Grace Wilson was crowned Miss Statesville 2027 on Oct. 10 at North Iredell High School in Olin, N.C., in her first year of competition. Her initiative, One Choice. One Family. One Changed Life., is built on her own adoption story.

Ashlynn Marie Batts was crowned Miss Randolph County’s Teen 2027 on Oct. 10 at Eastern Randolph High School in Ramseur, N.C. Her Graceful Givings initiative is built on the idea that even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference.

Maghen Wagner was crowned Miss Randolph County 2027 on Oct. 10 at Eastern Randolph High School, bringing Maghen’s Light of Hope, a mental health and suicide prevention initiative built on her own survival and on the gap in resources she found in her county.

Madison Taylor Hadaway was crowned Miss Central Carolina 2027 on Oct. 3 at the T. Austin Finch Auditorium, bringing Heart First, a cardiovascular health initiative born from her own cardiac testing and her work in interventional cardiology.

Charlotte Elizabeth Rappe was crowned Miss Central Carolina’s Teen 2027 on Oct. 3 at the T. Austin Finch Auditorium in Thomasville, bringing Birthday Blessings, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit she runs to give children in crisis a birthday celebration.