By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Some young girls have dreams of wearing ball gowns and sparkling tiaras. Hayden’s Colene Burns had similar dreams at an early age.

At age 4, Burns began competing in local pageants. Twenty years later, she’s preparing to compete in the Miss Alabama Pageant June 3-6 at Samford University’s Wright Center.

Burns, who is the reigning Miss North Jefferson County, will compete against 46 other young ladies from throughout the state for scholarship money and the chance to compete in the Miss America Pageant.

This isn’t Burns first time to compete in the state contest, but it is her last year of eligibility. In addition to being Miss North Jefferson County, she has held the title of Miss Covered Bridge 2008, Miss University of North Alabama 2007, Miss Tennessee Valley 2006 and Miss Center Point 2005.

She’s won first and second runner-up in two previous Miss Alabama Pageants. However, she’s cautiously optimistic that this could be her year.

“With pageants, you never know. It’s a different set of judges every year,” she said. “It’s just a lot of daily preparation and I don’t think most people realize that.”

Part of that daily preparation includes hours and hours of community service work, fund-raising and tutelage from her director, Lynne Dodson.

“She’s the total package,” Dodson said of Colene. “All of our girls have areas they need to work on, but she’s got it all. It doesn’t mean she’ll win, but we hope she does.”

Burns is also more than just your average beauty queen; she also sings opera. At the Miss Alabama Pageant, she’ll sing “Habanera” and “Love is Where You Find It.” While at the University of North Alabama pursuing a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree, she also sang with the UNA Jazz Band.

Burns’ mom, Deborah Burns, said the year leading up to the Miss Alabama Pageant has been a “whirlwind,” though it’s been an enjoyable journey. As a pageant mom, she hopes her daughter will one day have a similar experience.

“Being in pageants has really given her a lot of confidence,” she said of her daughter. “I hope she has a little girl so she can experience the same thing.”

Dodson said she just wants Burns to be able to win enough scholarship money to advance her studies at Ole Miss University, where she’s been accepted into a doctorate program.

“She had a very good chance of representing us as a state winner,” she said. “She’ll do a great job of representing us whether she wins or not.”

For more information about the Miss Alabama Pageant, visit www.missalabama.com. For more information about Miss North Jefferson County, visit missnorthjeffersoncounty.com.