Courtney Garrett

Garrett began competing in beauty pageants when she was three years old.[1] Her first competition was for Tiny Miss Appomattox in 1996.[2] Among her childhood achievements, Garrett was crowned Little Miss State Fair of Virginia in 1998.[3]

Garrett was crowned Miss Central Virginia's Outstanding Teen 2009 and went on to win the statewide Miss Virginia's Outstanding Teen 2009 title.[1] Trying for the national crown, Garrett placed in the Top 10 at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2010.[4]

Competing as an adult, Garrett won the Miss Lynchburg 2011 title on January 29, 2011.[1][5] She competed in the 2011 Miss Virginia pageant with the platform "C.A.R.E. – Communication and Respect for Everyone" which promoted respect for individuals with handicaps plus a vocal performance of "Over the Rainbow" in the talent portion of the competition.[2][6][7] She was named first runner-up to winner Elizabeth Crot.[2][8]

In December 2011, Garrett won the Miss Arlington 2012 title.[9][10] She competed in the 2012 Miss Virginia pageant with the platform "Defying Disabilities" and a vocal performance of a Martina McBride song in the talent portion of the competition.[11][12] She was named third runner-up to winner Rosemary Willis.[1][9]

On February 16, 2013, Garrett won the Miss Lynchburg title for a second time.[13] She competed in the 2013 Miss Virginia pageant with the platform "Defying Disabilities" and a vocal performance of "Caruso" by Lucio Dalla in the talent portion of the competition.[13][14] She was named second runner-up to winner Desiree Williams.[15]

On September 28, 2013, Garrett was crowned Miss State Fair of Virginia 2014.[3][16][17] She entered the Miss Virginia pageant at the Roanoke Civic Center in June 2014 as one of 26 qualifiers for the state title.[18] Garrett's competition talent was a vocal performance of "Parla Più Piano", an Italian language version of the love theme from The Godfather.[19][20] Her platform was "Defying Disabilities", focused on understanding the challenges of people with physical challenges.[18][21]

Garrett won the competition on Saturday, June 28, 2014, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Virginia titleholder Desiree Williams.[18][19] She earned more than $17,500 in scholarship money and other prizes from the state pageant.[19] As Miss Virginia, her activities include public appearances across the state of Virginia.[17][22]

Garrett was Virginia's representative at the Miss America 2015 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2014.[10][17][23] She was the first runner-up to Miss New York Kira Kazantsev for the national title and would have taken over as Miss America if anything had interrupted her reign.[22][24][25] Garrett earned a $25,000 scholarship prize as first runner-up.[26]