DAVIS COUNTY—On Nov. 12, Davis County received new royalty. After a full day of pageanting, Hannah Romney was crowned Miss Davis County for 2023.

For Romney, pageanting runs in her blood. She got her start as Little Miss Lehi when she was 7 years old. And her niece is the one who helped her get involved this year for the Davis County run. “At some point, my whole family has been involved in pageanting,” said Romney.

This year the Miss Davis County Competition was held at the Syracuse Arts Academy. The festivities ran all day on Nov. 12 with workshops on walking, talking, dancing and singing. There were also talent shows, interview questions and an evening gown competition involving each of the six contestants.

“Our Miss Davis County, Hannah Romney, was so welcomed, and I’m so proud to call her my title holder,” said Melissa Payne, a makeup artist at the pageant. “This workshop was amazing, and Hannah is even more prepared to serve the community of Davis County!”

After not being interested in the pageant, Romney's niece convinced her to run for the Miss Davis County title. “I had the full ‘Miss Congeniality’ turn-around,” explained Romney. “I had preconceived notions that pageants are based on beauty and body expectations. However, unexpectedly, the pageant was full of feminine energy, and everyone was so kind to me throughout the whole process.”

Romney explained that each contestant and everyone involved were all rooting for each other. “The first thing I noticed was that everyone was so kind, supportive and uplifting,” said Romney. “Everyone wanted each other to succeed, and they were cheering for everyone involved.”

“I feel I won on the energy of the day and the work I had already put into my social initiative,” said Romney. “I think this was seen by everyone during all of the walking, talking and singing leading up to the shining 24 hours of that day.”

Romney’s social impact initiative is the love of arts. “I believe the arts have the power to change someone's perspective on themselves, their circumstances and their community,” said Romney.

“I want kids to have as much exposure as they can to these healing tools,” she said. “There needs to be more art, dance and theater in our elementary schools. The arts are so healing.”

When Romney was about 14 years old, she lost her brother, which created trials and tragedies in her life. She was able to turn to theater to help her understand what was going on and how to process things better. “After the theater kids found me, I experienced the most empathy I have ever felt in my life,” said Romney. “There is something so beautiful about the way art touches you. It has the potential to heal communities by offering different perspectives.”

Others often describe Romney as being “quite a quirky one” and a bit “unhinged,” yet she still has the ability to help everyone feel comfortable. She describes herself as a “theater-kid turned preschool teacher and a lesbian-woman with her own inner diversity.”

Romney will be holding an art supply drive in January to help meet her goals of getting the arts into more schools. Romney stated that only about 49 minutes of each day are spent on the arts in elementary school classrooms. Her initiative is to provide more exposure to not only elementary age kids but all students in Davis County.