Monday, September 20, 1999

No one's teasing Miss America now

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Heather French achieved her goal

BY SARA J. BENNETT and SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Heather Renee French gets kisses Sunday from her mother, Diana, and father, Ronnie, in Atlantic City. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        MAYSVILLE, Ky. — Some of Heather Renee French's classmates at Mason County High School used to tease her by saying “Here comes Miss America” as she passed by.

        On Sunday, the teasing turned to cheers.

        This town of 9,400 residents was abuzz with news that one of their own had been crowned Miss America 2000 on Saturday night in Atlantic City, N.J.

        At the Metropolitan Cafe in historic downtown, in the neighborhood where she grew up, even at the grocery and department stores through town, Maysville residents couldn't stop talking about the 24-year-old graduate student in fashion design at the University of Cincinnati.

        “She's always talked about being Miss America and that one day she was going to do it,” said Jenny Lester, who grew up near Ms. French in Maysville's Circle Drive subdivision.

        She recalled that Ms. French began entering pageants when she was about 8 or 9 years old and, as she became older, would jog along highways and on golf courses to stay fit.

        Mrs. Lester thinks the ribbing in school only made Ms. French more determined to grab the title.

        “She just liked to get out there. That was just her thing. She was not showy. She just liked doing (pageants),” Mrs. Lester said.

        Ms. French's parents, Ronnie and Diana French, drove to Atlantic City about a week ago and still hadn't returned on Sunday. Yet there was a banner to greet them at the door of their home. It said “Welcome Home Miss America 2000” and was signed by several people.

        Ms. French graduated from the high school in 1992. She played the flute for the marching band and was in the choir.

        “She was just an outstanding student,” said Mason County High School band director Doug Calland. “We couldn't have a better representative. She's just an outstanding young lady from an outstanding family.”

        Mason County High School art teacher Wanda Felice raved about her painting and other artistic talents. She said Ms. French is just as she appeared on television — friendly and intelligent.

        “What you see is what you get with her,” she said.

        In the nearby Old Washington District, the Simon Kenton Festival parade proceeded down Main Street. Phil Weber stood in his yard as it rolled by.

        He said excitement caused by Ms. French's achievement topped anything happening at the annual festival.

        “Why wouldn't you (be excited) when you have a Miss America from your hometown,” he said.

        One of Ms. French's college teachers was not surprised by her success.

        “During her senior thesis, she would take time off to drive every Wednesday to Louisville to take special classes. She is an example to the other students of what happens when someone sets a goal and achieves it.”

        Her victory didn't go unnoticed when students began arriving for UC's fall quarter.

        “That's pretty cool. It brings more prestige to the college,” said Jaime Linnig, a Green Township freshman at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). “We watched it on TV, and when they were announcing (the contestants), my parents were like, "Look! She's from DAAP!'”

        Ms. French, whose father is a disabled Vietnam veteran, hopes to use her crown to spotlight homelessness among veterans and get them more government help. She has done volunteer work for the Veterans Administration.

        “We have over 250,000 homeless veterans, spread nationwide,” she said Sunday at a news conference in Atlantic City. “A large population, of course, are in Washington, D.C., and in large cities. You find they congregate in the larger areas because that's where the facilities are that treat those needs.”

        Her father, 52, served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam and was shot in the wrist. He thinks his daughter will make a difference as a high-profile spokeswoman for veterans.

        Ms. Meacham, who coordinates DAAP's fashion design program, has known Ms. French for five years.

        “The goal of winning Miss Kentucky was set four years ago, and every spring, when the pageant came around, she would begin physical training as well as just learning everything she could about the pageant,” Ms. Meacham said. “Everyone is very excited that she was able to achieve so much in one year.”

        Shortly after winning Miss Kentucky this summer, she told Ms. Meacham's fashion drawing class that quarterly juries requiring students to defend their work before a faculty panel helped prepare her for pageants.

        Ms. French, who received a bachelor's degree at UC, will take a year off to fulfill her duties as Miss America, which include giving speeches and making appearances.

        She plans to complete her UC master's degree, design women's clothing and teach fashion design and drawing at the university.

        The Associated Press contributed to this report.

       

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