STEVENSVILLE — On Sunday, Nov. 24, several young women took to the stage to compete for a spot on the Miss Heart of Blossomtime Court. Girls from both Niles and Dowagiac earned spots on the court.

Raelyn DeGroff, of Paw Paw, received the honor of representing her community as the 2020 Miss Heart in front a full house at Lakeshore High School. The Miss Heart Pageant originated in 1992 offering young women living in communities that do not host a hometown pageant the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Blossomtime.  Some of these communities are, Allegan, Decatur, Dowagiac, Paw Paw, Covert, Fennville, Lawton, Mattawan, Marcellus, Three Rivers, Vicksburg and surrounding communities in southwest Michigan. Seven young women competed in the 2020 Miss Heart Pageant.

As Miss Heart, DeGroff will join her sister queens competing for more than $20,000 in scholarships in the Miss/Mr. Blossomtime Pageants. The 2020 pageants will be hosted on March 15-16 at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center.

DeGroff is a junior at Paw Paw High School and plans to attend Butler University to obtain a four-year degree in sports broadcasting and communication. She would like to become a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs.  She is a member of the National Honor Society, an Academic All-State for competitive cheer and is a certified peer assistant leader. She is the first female member of the Paw Paw Volunteer Fire Department and hopes to obtain her certification as a firefighter and EMT. DeGroff is also involved in Girl Scouts, cheer and volunteering for fire safety month with elementary students. She is the daughter of Nikki and Jim DeGroff, of Paw Paw.

Earning the title of first runner-up was Abby Ickes from Dowagiac. Ickes is currently a junior at Dowagiac Union High School. After graduating, Ickes plans to get a registered nursing degree at Southwestern Michigan College and transfer to a four-year university to obtain her bachelor of science in nursing to become a pediatric nurse. Her biggest goal in life is to be happy, because life is too short not to be happy, she said. She is a member of the National Honor Society, has maintained a 4.0 grade point average in her college classes and received the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. She is involved with Chieftain Heart, the school musical, garden club and the Humanities Club.  She is the daughter of Paula and Rob Ickes, of Dowagiac.

Earning the title of Miss Congeniality was Hannah Kiggins from Niles. Her goal is to be able to own a small and large animal care center and be a professional photographer. She currently attends Southwestern Michigan College where she is working on her associate degrees in both veterinary technician and photography. She plans to transfer to Baker College to get her bachelor’s degree in veterinary technician to one day own her own animal business.  Kiggins has received a most improved senior scholarship, a four-year varsity athletic award, a Niles FFA Chapter Degree and took the gold first place at the FFA District Leadership Contest for Agriculture Issues. She is the daughter of Cydni and Christopher Kiggins, of Dowagiac.

Also, competing for the title of Miss Teen Blossomtime that evening were 14 contestants ranging in ages from 13 to 15.  Crowned Miss Teen Blossomtime 2020 was Claire Caplea. Caplea is a freshman at St. Joseph High School and participates on the varsity cross country team, track, dance, Interact Club and Yoga Club. Claire received the Coaches Award for cross country, is a member of AP Leadership, Student Senate and was awarded for her grades on the “A” Honor Roll. Caplea is the daughter of Kim and Casey Caplea, of St. Joseph.

Crowned first runner up to Miss Teen Blossomtime 2020 was Abigail Voss, daughter of DeeAnn and Mike Voss. Crowned second runner up was Abbi Kalin, daughter of Mike and Mitzi Kalin, of St. Joseph. Crowned Miss Congeniality was Samantha Smith, daughter of Angie and Nathan Smith.

The theme of the pageant was “Friends.” The chairman of Miss Heart is Tiffany Jackson and the chairman for Miss Teen Blossomtime is Kim Hauch. Lindsay LeValley emceed the pageant.