Miss Arkansas returns to Greenwood for homecoming

By Thomas Saccente / Times Record / tsaccente@swtimes.com

Posted Jul 22, 2019 at 1:54 PM

Miss Arkansas returned to her roots in Greenwood for a homecoming on Sunday.

Dozens of local residents, including elected officials, welcomed Darynne Dahlem, Miss Arkansas 2019, to the Bell Park Pavilion, where they got their pictures taken with Dahlem, enjoyed a variety of refreshments and socialized.

A 2015 graduate of Greenwood High School, Dahlem said it was amazing to be back in Greenwood for the event.

“The town has changed so much even since I graduated because we’re constantly growing,” Dahlem said. “And it’s just so awesome to know that I have a community that truly cares about me, and cares about all of its citizens, and so representing Greenwood, representing Arkansas at Miss America, is going to be such an amazing experience, and representing Greenwood the rest of my year as well.”

Dahlem was crowned Miss Arkansas 2019 on June 15. Her platform was “Know Who You Are.” Dahlem focused on addiction awareness by bringing knowledge to the root problems of addiction, including lack of self-esteem, not setting goals for oneself and peer pressure.

“That way, I can really talk to the younger generation about what it means to know who you are and know that that’s enough and you don’t have to change yourself and you don’t have to do or be something that you’re not,” Dahlem said. “So you end up being successful, going to college, or even just staying at home and doing whatever you want.”

Among the guests at Dahlem’s celebration was state Sen. Mat Pitsch. Pitsch presented Dahlem with an Arkansas Senate citation, in addition to an Arkansas House of Representatives citation in the place of state Rep. Lee Johnson, who was absent.

Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow presented a proclamation declaring Sunday as Darynne Dahlem Day, as well as a lapel pin and a key to the city to Dahlem.

The proclamation states Dahlem is a cum laude honors graduate at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a degree in animal science. In addition, she previously held the titles of Miss Northwest Arkansas, Miss University of Arkansas, Miss Arkansas Valley and Miss Western Arkansas. Dahlem will represent Arkansas at the 2020 Miss America Pageant.

https://www.boonevilledemocrat.com/news/20190722/miss-arkansas-returns-to-greenwood-for-homecoming/1