CONWAY, Arkansas — Editor's note: The video shown above is from the Mrs. Heart of Arkansas Pageant in Oct. 2019.
According to a press release, Haley Rose Pontius, a 23-year-old Conway native, was crowned Miss Arkansas USA 2020 on Sunday, Nov. 18 in Fort Smith, Ark.
The pageant was held over two days, where contestants from across the state of Arkansas competed in evening gown, swimwear and multiple interview categories. In addition to winning the crown, Haley Rose also won the Overall Interview Award and Overall Swimsuit Award.
Haley Rose is a 2019 graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Dietetics. She is currently planning the launch of her own start up business, focused on inspiring healthy living in the home, for spring of 2020.
She is an advocate for heart health and an avid volunteer, having volunteered with the American Heart Association for almost ten years and spent her senior year volunteering in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Nutrition Research Center.
Haley Rose also works as a model with the Agency, Inc. in Little Rock and in her free time enjoys cooking, exercising, hiking the Natural State, and taking road trips.
“I’m so honored to have been chosen to represent this beautiful state at Miss USA. I simply hope to make Arkansas proud,” she says regarding her win. “I’m dedicating my year as Miss Arkansas USA to giving back to Arkansans. I want to inspire healthy living and volunteerism in our communities and give young women a respectable role model to look up to.”
Haley Rose will spend the next year traveling the nation, volunteering with various organizations, and preparing for Miss USA. She will represent Arkansas in the nationally televised Miss USA Pageant sometime in 2020.