This wasn’t how Kylie Hood envisioned becoming Distinguished Young Woman of Oklahoma.

But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t put in the work and won’t embrace the opportunity.

The reigning Distinguished Young Woman of Kingfisher County will hold the state title after a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at Warehouse Mercantile in Kingfisher.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony. ( Ed. note: See advertisement on Page 3 for more information.)

That date was originally when the state competition was to be held as contestants from across Oklahoma competed for the title, along with Hood.

However, due to multiple conflicts and other personal reasons, contestants had to withdraw from the competition.

Members of the Oklahoma DYW board of directors as well as the reigning DYW, Ella Dierlam, will be at the ceremony to award Hood a medallion and scholarship money.

She will represent Oklahoma at the national competition in Mobile, Ala., in June 2024.

Hood said she was looking forward to the opportunity to not only compete, but take in all the events that go along with the state DYW program this weekend.

“I was really excited to meet some new friends during the program and do volunteer work, too,” she said.

A senior at Kingfisher High School this fall, Hood had been preparing for several months for the state event.

She’d been working with Katie Ward, director of DYW of Kingfisher County, and they also solicited the help of Emily Faith Sanders, who has competed in multiple pageants.

“I had been working hard on a dance for fitness, my talent and interview, so now that work I put in won’t really be the reason I received the title,” she said.

Ward said she’s watched Hood grow in the process, one that’s involved a lot of work.

“She’s been memorizing a new monologue talent to perform with staged movements, numerous evenings where she and I have been learning and perfecting the fitness routine as well as brushing up on interview questions and answers and posing in heels,” Ward said.

It’s turned Hood into someone completely ready to compete at the state level, Ward added. That may not have been the case a year ago.

“One thing that would have not been fully shown on stage, but that I have been given a first-class seat to experience was the growth Kylie has made from when she first came to the parent/participant meeting to now,” Ward said.

“She always has the biggest smile on her face. She’s such a sweetheart and would be the friend you can always count on. That’s always been her.

“But her growth that I have seen is the confidence in herself. Even something as simple as how she stands and poses in pictures; she is brimming with confidence That parent/participant meeting was early in Hood’s junior year.

After winning the county program, Hood has spent the last year making public appearances, which has included speaking with young girls and trying to inspire them.

“My favorite thing I’ve done with DYW in the last year was the ‘Be Your Best Self Week’ presentation to the Kingfisher Junior High girls,” she said. “It was about being healthy, ambitious, involved, responsible and studious. Additionally, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in community events like Little Mr. and Miss Firecracker, which was really fun, too.”

Being the local DYW representative has allowed Hood to grow her own ideals, she said.

“Being a servant leader is my passion, so having this platform was a great way to live this out,” Hood said.

Now she’ll have an even bigger platform as the state’s representative.

Hood will be the first person from Kingfisher County under the title of DYW to represent Oklahoma at the national program.

Lisa Kay Forkey of Okarche was chosen as Oklahoma’s Junior Miss in 1982.

Other than competing in nationals in a year, Hood said she’s still unsure of what the next year holds for her.

“Largely my year isn’t set in stone,” she said, noting that on top of the national competition, she will again do something in conjunction with the “Be Your Best Self Week.”

“Despite not knowing what next year is going to bring, I’m very excited to collaborate and plan with the state to continue living out God’s calling to be a servant.”

Ward is confident she’ll carry out that calling quite well.

“I am very excited to see her as the first DYW of Kingfisher County to represent the state over this next year and at nationals,” Ward said. “She is like a butterfly and is just coming out of her chrysalis to show the world what she is made of.”