Mead’s Kayla Best named Miss Spokane

Kayla Best is one step closer to becoming Miss America 2007.

The Mead High School senior was chosen as Miss Spokane 2006 at Sunday’s competition at Northern Quest Casino and will represent Spokane in the Miss Washington pageant in July. The winner will advance to the Miss America pageant.

If she wins there, she would be the first Miss America from Washington state.

A brush with pageant success came when Carolyn Sapp won the title in 1992. Sapp was Miss Hawaii but was from Kettle Falls, Wash.

Best attends classes at Spokane Falls Community College through the Running Start program and hopes to attend the University of Washington. She plans on studying pathology.

Best was the recipient of multiple Chase Youth Awards. She also helped raise $8,000 for Teen-Aid, a national character education program, and was the developer and founder of a competitive rewards program for high school interns at Washington Mutual Bank, where she is a high school intern.

Best also was Miss Teen Spokane 2004.

Her latest win earned her a $2,000 cash scholarship sponsored by Global Credit Union, a $6,000 scholarship to Gonzaga University, if Sapp chooses to attend, to be used over four years, and a variety of prizes.

Best has chosen the platform “Encouraging Positive Life Choices through Character Education” as her issue for the coming year.

Stephany Jeffers, a junior at Whitworth College, was named first runner-up and received a $750 cash scholarship sponsored by Engen Dentistry and Global Credit Union. Jeffers was also named Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.

Emily Parnham, a freshman at Washington State University, was named second runner-up and received a $350 cash scholarship sponsored by Global Credit Union. Parnham also received a $100 Touch of Class award from the Miss Spokane Scholarship Organization.

The Miss Spokane Scholarship Organization provides an opportunity for young women in the Spokane area to showcase their talents, hone their interview skills and bring to the public’s attention a platform issue that is significant to them and their community. For more information, visit www.missspokane.net.