Amelia Lisowe, 8, wants to “Spread a Little Joy” in the lives of others.
“Spread a Little Joy” is her platform as she serves as Little Miss of Arkansas 2018. She was crowned the state winner May 1, when she was 7.
She took her platform to Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 21-24 to compete in the Little Miss of America competition, which is part of the American Pageant system, and came back as the first-runner up and overall high-score winner for community involvement, volunteering and activities.
“I am so proud of her,” said her mother, Lauren Lisowe, who has been actively involved during the past few years in community efforts such as the Junior Auxiliary of Saline County, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Saline County Safe Haven and the Boys & Girls Club of Bryant. “This pageant is not a beauty pageant; it is based on scholastic achievement, school activities and community service.
“This is the first time she has ever competed in any kind of pageant. She dances in a competitive dance group and danced at a Miss Arkansas Pageant. After seeing that pageant, she said, ‘Mommy, I really would like to do that.’ I knew about the American Pageant system and like it because it celebrates the achievements of little girls and young women, rather than the way they look. It teaches them that being smart and confident are important qualities. It also gives them a way to show others that being kind and making a difference is something that anyone can do at any age.”
Lauren competed in the same pageant system, although it was called the Miss Teen of America Scholarship and Recognition Pageant, when she was 16 and named Miss Teen of Arkansas in 1997.
Amelia, a second-grader at Hurricane Creek Elementary School, said she came up with the title of her platform “because I want other kids to know that even though we are little, we can make a difference. We can spread joy to others.”
To help spread joy at her school, after Amelia won the state title, she decorated the school with hundreds of positive Post-It notes. Students chose a note that made them feel special and wore it for the day.
“My friends thought that was cool,” Amelia said. “One of my favorites said, ‘You’re a smart cookie.’ Another one said, ‘Share a smile with someone.’”
Also to demonstrate her platform, Amelia threw out the first pitch for a Travelers home baseball game in Little Rock. She distributed more positive Post-It notes to those attending the game.
Most recently, Amelia collected more than 500 nightlights to give to central-Arkansas foster children.
“Her program, known affectionately as ‘A Light in the Darkness,’ was supported by students at her school, the Riggs CAT Caterpillar dealership and other friends and family,” Lauren said. “She worked with the school counselor to set up a day when children could wear hats to school in exchange for a $1 donation that would go toward the purchase of nightlights.”
Tisha Long, assistant principal at Hurricane Creek Elementary School, where Amelia is a student, said she was not surprised by Amelia’s winning the state title, nor her placement in the national competition.
“She’s a go-getter. We are very proud of her. She came up with the idea of the nightlights on her own. We were just glad to be a part of it,” Long said
“We collected $311 on that hat day. Amelia came to school soon after with a wagonload of nightlights to show us what that money was used for. It was good for the kids to see what their donations bought,” Long said.
“Amelia Lisowe, who is the daughter of one of our employees, came up with a plan to collect nightlights for children in foster care/emergency-care situations,” said Lori Sawran, director of learning and development at Riggs CAT.
“As many of these children are thrust into these situations with little or no belongings, Amelia wanted to ensure that these children received a nightlight … literally ‘A Light in the Darkness,’” Sawran said.
“When Riggs became familiar with Amelia’s plan, she had only collected 20 nightlights at the time, but she had established a goal to collect 250 nightlights to provide to foster children. Her school had agreed to help her in achieving this goal, and Riggs immediately agreed to support her on this venture as well,” Sawran said.
“Share it Forward is a nonprofit organization that was created by Riggs CAT, which provides support to our employees in times of needs, provides scholarships and actively supports many initiatives within the community. While there are numerous programs and initiatives that Share It Forward actively participates in, supporting foster care is one of our greatest initiatives and is very close to the heartbeat of our organization,” she said.
“Share It Forward and Riggs CAT partnered with Amelia on this noble venture because this was an initiative directly aligned with our mission to serve foster kids in Little Rock and throughout Arkansas,” Sawran said. “Our executive senior vice president and Share It Forward trustee, Jason McDonald, expressed his support and endorsed our partnership with Amelia and said, ‘I believe we need to support our employees’ children who are being innovative with their giving.’
“We want other children to know that even though they may be small, they can also have a mighty impact on their community. We were delighted to contribute to her initiative to be ‘A Light in Darkness.’ Not only did she meet that goal of 250 nightlights; she greatly exceeded it.”
Amelia said she wants to compete for the national Little Miss pageant title again next year.
“I got second place this time and want to win it next time,” she said, smiling. She said she has been helping her older brother, 10-year-old Braden, in his business to earn money to make the trip again.
Lauren said her son has been preparing meals and selling them to family and friends.
“I think [the pageant] costs $600,” Amelia said. “So far, I have $60.”
Amelia will continue to serve the state as Little Miss of Arkansas until April 2019. She will also continue her other activities — being a four-year member and soloist with the Arkansas Dance Center company, participating in the Young Players theater group at The Royal Theatre, taking gymnastics and playing outside with Braden.
Amelia said reading is her favorite subject in school, and her favorite books are The Boxcar Children series.
When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she said, “A teacher or an astronaut or a scientist or a lawyer.”
Dawn Braswell, Amelia’s second-grade teacher, said anything is possible with Amelia.
“She is an amazing student. She makes great grades. She puts forth great effort in everything she does, and she is kind to the other students,” Braswell said.
“I had Lauren’s younger brother, Ross Benson, the first year I taught,” Braswell said, laughing as she acknowledged she is in her 19th year of teaching. “I knew Lauren, too. Now I’ve got Amelia in my class. She is an amazing young lady.”