All-American girl

Fans, friends, family members and even fellow competitors all seem to use the same word when asked to describe Loren McDaniel: Genuine.

The reigning Miss Arkansas, crowned July 11 in Hot Springs, "has such a genuine, selfless spirit about her," says Toni Bahn, director of the Miss Northwest Arkansas Pageant, where McDaniel won her local crown.

"She was incredible -- hilarious and very down to earth, very genuine," says Destiny Quinn, Miss Frisco Springs, who lined up next to McDaniel on the Miss Arkansas stage.

"She's genuinely a nice person, genuinely cares about people, is genuinely passionate about her platform," says Jessica Fisher, her drama teacher when she was at Van Buren High School. "She's the whole package deal."

Ask the same people, and they all seem to have a story that illustrates their point. Bahn talks about McDaniel getting down on the level of a tiny little girl who wanted to talk to her at the Miss Arkansas' Outstanding Teen Pageant. "There was no photo opp. There were no judges watching," Bahn says. "She's just good at connecting with people of all ages."

Asked to endure a seemingly endless photo opportunity in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette studio, McDaniel was .... well, genuinely nice, genuinely patient and seemed genuinely entertained. As confetti flew around her, she laughed often and exclaimed, "This is so much fun," before returning to her new job -- being Arkansas' representative to the Miss America Pageant.

Cents & sensibilities

Founded in 1921, the Miss America Pageant takes pride in being one of the "world's largest providers of scholarship assistance for young women." More than 12,000 women in their late teens and early 20s compete in state and local events each year, bringing the total in scholarships into the millions of dollars. As Miss Frisco Springs, Quinn received $1,500 in prize money -- which might not sound like a fortune but was enough to pay her tuition at Arkansas State University this year, she says.

As Miss Arkansas, McDaniel received $20,o00 in money she can use to pursue a master's degree, and that hope certainly attracted McDaniel and her parents, her mother, Melissa McDaniel, admits. But it wasn't the only benefit.

"She started because we saw scholarship opportunities. She's not a pageant product. It wasn't her passion as a young girl," Melissa McDaniel says. "But once she participated and learned more about the organization, she really grasped the service part of it."

Since 1989, each contestant in the Miss America Pageant system must choose a "platform," described by the pageant organization as "an issue about which she cares deeply and that is of relevance to our society."

McDaniel's platform, "Confidently You," "aims to help raise awareness and prevent domestic violence across the state of Arkansas," press information says. She hopes to "speak to 60,000 students in Arkansas throughout her reign and help them find what makes them unique, learn to surround themselves with positive people, be comfortable in their own skin and know that their own definition of confidence will help them grow up to be the best version of themselves. [She] also plans to work with each of the shelters associated with the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence during her year."

"Unfortunately, yes, there have been people I know personally affected by domestic violence," she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a post-pageant interview. "It isn't being talked about enough, and that gives the abuser more leeway to do it again. ... I really want to stress we have to talk about it, and it has to stop. With the huge opportunity I have with Miss Arkansas, I can open doors I couldn't open before and make sure this is talked about."

Although she is undeniably beautiful, talented and articulate, McDaniel also admits she tasted the sting of bullying as her parents moved around during her school years.

"It can be difficult when you're the new girl, and sometimes you are in situations where you're not welcomed," her mother says. "But she took it in stride, she persevered."

And although McDaniel had always been "a little timid," she "found herself" in fifth or sixth grade, her mother adds, when she combined her talents in music and dance with theater in church productions.

"She found a way of expressing herself," Melissa McDaniel says. "It just all seemed to click."

The act of becoming

"I've known Loren in several capacities, but it all started in 2008 when I cast her as Rizzo in the Young Actors Guild production of 'Grease'," says Missy Gipson, executive director of the Fort Smith youth arts organization. "From there she went on to the roles of Velma VanTussel in 'Hairspray,' and her crowning moment (with YAG) as Fantine in our 2012 production of 'Les Miserables.'" McDaniel loved the musical so much, she chose "Bring Him Home" from "Les Mis" for her Miss America talent entry.

"She is one of the kindest and most genuine girls I've been blessed to work with," Gipson goes on to say. "She is a brilliant talent, but more importantly, she is a willing ensemble member who is happy to support others on stage and off."

McDaniel made a big impression early on at Van Buren High School, when she sang at convocation, drama teacher Fisher remembers.

"She's always had an excellent voice; she has such a gift there," she says. "And she can just light up a stage."

Fisher says she knew immediately she'd found the actress to play Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes." What she found out later, she says, was that McDaniel "was always a joy to work with. She was always upbeat and positive. She was efficient -- she got things done. She was a leader in my program -- but she had fun doing it. That's what attracted people to her."

McDaniel also won her first pageant title in high school -- Miss Van Buren High. But Fisher says she was "never the stereotypical pageant girl. She was an all-American girl. She was never all about the glitz and the glam. She wanted to get her school work done, get her theater work done, enjoy her friends. People just wanted to be her friend."

At the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where McDaniel earned a bachelor of arts in theater in May, the reaction to her Miss Arkansas win was just as enthusiastic.

"She and I have been friends for years and watching her passion for the arts, community, family and the pageant world manifest itself by becoming Miss Arkansas is truly amazing," says Brandyn D. Smith, who earned a master of fine arts at the UA and directed McDaniel in "Godspell." "I've seen how hard she's worked physically, mentally and emotionally to make it possible. I'm very proud of her."

Smith also praises McDaniel as an actress.

"She is sharp and quick witted, which served us well with the show because it was mostly improv," he says. "She was extremely sweet, very giving and incredibly talented."

Michael Riha, chairman of the theater department, agrees McDaniel stood out.

"She was a lovely young lady who grew immensely as a performer since she first came to us," he says.

McDaniel gives her theater training significant credit for her success.

"It gave me a confidence on stage that I didn't know I had until my first pageant," she says. "I felt a calm come over me the first time I stepped on to the stage.

"But what some people may not realize is that in theater you are always coming on stage as a character," she adds. "In the Miss America system, I came on stage as Loren McDaniel. It was my first experience in truly revealing who I was to an audience rather than revealing a story of a character in a play or musical. ... They're one and the same ultimately, though. In theater you work hard to tell the character's story to the best of your ability, so that the audience leaves with more insight than they had entering the theater. In pageantry and through the Miss Arkansas Pageant, after competing three years, I know that I have told my story to the best of my ability.

"I believe that the Miss America system empowers women to tell their story to the best of their ability and to be confident in their roots, growth and obstacles that they have overcome."

"Truthfully I've never been much into pageants, but this has changed it for me," Gipson concludes. "She is deserving of the title of Miss Arkansas and Miss America because she is simply a kind-hearted girl that wants the best for everyone. I'll root for that any day."

NAN Our Town on 08/13/2015