Henderson’s Own Little Mr. and Miss Kentucky

Five-year-old Millie Jones and six-year-old Walker Trammel, of Henderson, aren’t just a couple of pretty faces.  Millie loves to color and make crafts.  She aspires to become a singer one day when she grows up.  Walker wants to be an “army soldier” and get “more trophies” in his other endeavors.

The daughter of Chad and Lisa Jones and son of Chris and Kim Trammel hold the reigning title of Little Mr. and Miss Henderson County Fair.  The two later went on to the Kentucky State Fair Pageant, held in Louisville, Kentucky, last summer and won the title of Little Mr. and Miss Kentucky County Fair.

Millie and Walker have been lifelong friends.  “They’ve always been buddies since their preschool days at Busy Bees,” says Kim.  Millie, a petite little girl with sandy blonde hair and a sweet smile, and Walker, a little boy with stunningly bright eyes which peep through his long dark lashes, enjoys doing pageants together as it gives them some extra time to see one another.  They don’t have as much time together as they once had now that they have graduated from Busy Bees and attend different schools.  Millie attends Bend Gate Elementary where she has just finished up her kindergarten year.  Walker attends Holy Name and is also headed for first grade this fall.

What ended with smiles big enough to win a beauty contest almost didn’t happen at all thanks to a miscommunication at the Henderson County Fair Pageant that preceded it.

“I said Millie’s going to be in the Little Mr. and Miss Pageant. Do you mind if Walker is in it with her? That’s how it started,” Lisa says.

“But we thought he was just going to be there to escort her,” adds Kim. “I didn’t realize he was going to be a contestant! When we got to the fair, I was asked to provide his birth certificate. I didn’t have it.”

“This is how we became besties,” Lisa giggles.

Kim continues, “Chris was at home looking in our safe for Walker’s birth certificate because basically if we couldn’t find it, we would ruin Millie’s life because if she doesn’t have a Mister, then she would be disqualified. We ended up finding a copy, but weren’t able to officially register him until about 20 minutes before the pageant started!”

Fortunately, it all ended well, and the young pair were crowned the winners.

Walker interjected, “We walked on the stage.  When we walked on the stage, my Mommy was so proud.”

Millie chimes in, “We’ve done the Henderson Christmas Parade.  I have about four or three crowns.  I wear them in pageants and in parades that I do.”

The youngsters are new to the pageant world, as are their moms.  “There’s nothing that I don’t like.  I want to be in more pageants because I like jewelry,” exclaims Millie.  Walker isn’t so sure about his future with pageants. However, he did admit that he had a good time and loved getting “a big huge trophy” that he then followed by showing its size with his outstretched arms. He even acknowledged a compliment given about his beautiful eyes by saying, “Thanks, my daddy has good eyes too.”

“We just did the Henderson pageant for fun,” Lisa says.  “They were the youngest in their division which went up to 7-year-olds.  So, when they won I was like “Hey Kim, we are going to be going to Louisville for (the) state (pageant)!”

“I had no idea,” says Kim. “I didn’t know what I signed up for, but he loved it, and they have had fun.”

Since winning the Little Mr. and Miss pageants, the two have made some local appearances to represent their new titles.  “They’ve gone to the courthouse, then the breakfast at the Christmas parade and went to a couple of other pageants so they could pass out stuff,” says Kim.

In Louisville, the state pageant had couples from 78 counties represented.  Each couple was assigned an escort to walk them around to their required events for the day.  Kaci Givens, 2016 Miss Henderson County Fair, was Millie and Walker’s escort.  The parents were not allowed to be present at some of the events including the interview portion of the pageant.  Kaci made sure the pair safely got to where their scheduled dictated.  The state pageant in Louisville is on a larger scale than the local county’s pageants.  The county fair pageants have a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the state fair pageants.  Lisa and Kim’s focus was letting Millie and Walker have fun and enjoy it all.  They did notice, however, that they were in the minority as most of the pageant moms were “super serious.”

“We walked in, and there were people with wagons full of pageant clothes.  It reminded me of the show, Toddlers & Tiaras.  We let our kids run around and play at the fair.  Lots of the other kids were told to sit still in the room and not get dirty.  We had fun with our kids though.  When it (was their turn), we just went and got their clothes out of our car.  I had Millie’s dress covered in a trash bag,” Lisa laughs as she recalls the day.

The pair will be back at this year’s Henderson County Fair and will also be in Louisville for the 2017 State Fair Pageant to crown the new Little Mr. and Miss winners.

While their mothers discussed their experience, Millie and Walker snickered and chased each other around the table.  They may have crowns, sashes, and trophies to prove their success, but for today they just act like kids.

Lisa and Kim are grateful for how last year’s pageants not only offered their children new opportunities and experiences but are also grateful for the bond of friendship that has formed between them.

“I think I gained a new, really good friend out of this deal,” Lisa says with a grin to which Kim replies, “I’ll second that.”

If you would like to see Millie and Walker in action one more time be sure to attend this year’s Henderson County Fair Little Mr. and Miss Pageant slated for July 8th and at the Little Miss and Mister Kentucky County Fair Pageant in Louisville in August.