Miss Michigan 2025 first awards go to Miss South Central, Miss Spirit of the State

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MUSKEGON, MI - Excitement filled the room the first night of competition for the 2025 Miss Michigan Scholarship Program, as the 22 contestants took the stage to compete for the title and crown.

From insightful comments to stunning outfits and a variety of talents displayed, the candidates showcased themselves during the preliminary competition on Thursday, June 12, at the historic Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon.

The preliminary round featured on-stage questions, a social impact initiative speech, a talent portion, a fitness showcase and evening gowns.

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Two contestants walked away with preliminary awards Thursday, with one snagging two of the three awarded on the first night of competition.

Miss South Central Lacy Jewell, of Charlotte, won both the on-stage question and talent awards, while Miss Spirit of the State Hannah Palmer, of Brighton, won the evening gown elegance award.

Jewell's service initiative is "Let's Make Music: Advocating for Music Education" and her winning talent was rock drumming to "Thunderstruck."

The final round of competition is on Saturday, June 14, when the winner will be crowned by Bay County's Miss Michigan 2024 Jenae Lodewyk.

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Opening night began with a group performance by the 22 candidates. The theme of the competition is "Motown."

Miss Michigan 2008 Ashlee Baracy-Kunkel, who served as the mistress of ceremonies, welcomed the audience and introduced the panel of judges for this year's competition: Haley Williams-Pepper, Becca Hatinger, Kevin Foley, Alexis Robertson and Will Gray.

In the preliminary round, points are awarded with 30% for the private interview with the judges, 20% for talent, 20% for health and fitness, 20% for evening gown and 10% for the on-stage question.

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Earlier in the week, the women had individual private interviews with the judges for them to learn more about their ability to fulfill the job of the title holder.

Each contestant on Thursday answered an on-stage question from the judges. The on-stage questions are meant to showcase each candidate's intelligence, personality, and their ability to communicate and command presence under the spotlight.

This year, issues ranged from social media perception, encouraging healthy eating, and educating young women on getting active in state government.

Jewell, whose service initiative is music education, won the award for her answer.

The recent Michigan State University graduate earned a bachelor's degree in music education. She was asked how she approaches kids who aren't interested in music, and shared a story about a child who lit up when she connected with a song from Minecraft, a video game he liked.

"It's all about being versatile," Jewell said. "Music is for everyone and as Miss Michigan I'll let everyone know that."

The crowd erupted in applause.

Other highlights of the night included an electric jazz performance to "All That Jazz" by Miss Washtenaw County Madalyn Poupard, a chilling, dramatic monologue by Miss Saginaw County Samantha Pickelman on the effects of dementia and an opera vocal performance to "Habanera" by Miss Great Lakes Bay Samantha McGaughy.

Lodewyk, player and family engagement senior manager for Detroit Pistons basketball operations, also took the stage Thursday sporting custom Pistons tennis shoes. She performed her spoken word talent from 2024 about working in the male-dominated field of professional sports.

For the last year, Lodewyk has balanced her full-time job with the Pistons and her job as Miss Michigan. In 60 years, she was the first title-holding Miss Bay County to win the state title, earning the opportunity to compete in the Miss America competition earlier this year.

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"If you give me a job I take it seriously," Lodewyk said. "It's been a dream to live my Hannah Montana 'Best of Both Worlds.'"

Baracy-Kunkel said Lodewyk's organization and work ethic made things "easy" for Miss Michigan leadership.

"You have some really big, sparkly shoes to fill," Baracy-Kunkel said.

The Miss Michigan 2025 competition will continue at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at the Frauenthal Theater, 425 W. Western Ave. The field will be narrowed to the top 10 candidates for that final round of competition and the winner crowned.

The 2025 Miss Michigan Outstanding Teen competition begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 13. The winner will be crowned at the end of the evening and can compete to be named Miss America's Outstanding Teen.

On Saturday, the Miss Michigan finalists will compete for a final score that is composited of 30% from the preliminary score along with new scores of 20% from talent, 20% for health and fitness, 20% for evening gown and 10% for the on-stage question and social impact.

Winners of the Miss Michigan competition receive scholarship money of $10,000 to the title winner, $4,000 to the runner-up, $3,000 to the second runner-up, $2,000 to the third runner-up, $1,500 to the fourth runner-up and $1,000 to the other five semi-finalists.

Non-finalists receive $500 each, plus there are individual scholarship awards for best talent, evening gown, interview and more.

Tickets are $45 to attend the Outstanding Teen program on Friday and $50 for the final Miss Michigan competition on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased online here. The event can also be livestreamed for $38 each plus $4.38 in fees by going here.

Prior to the final round of the 85th annual event, candidates will be engaging with residents in the Muskegon community.

The Miss Michigan contestants will go on a 1 p.m. Aquastar cruise on Muskegon Lake on Friday, June 13. Aquastar Cruises is located at 560 Mart St. The public is invited to join. Tickets can be purchased on the Aquastar website here.

The candidates will then be at the city's Taste of Muskegon in the evening at Hackley Park for autograph signing and photos. They were at the beachfront restaurant, The Deck, at Pere Marquetee Park on Monday.

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Five Miss Michigan winners have gone on to earn the Miss America title, including Miss America 1939 Patricia Donnelly Harris.

Other Michigan winners were Miss America 1961 Nancy Anne Fleming Lange, Miss America 1970 Pam Eldred, Miss America 1988 Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson and Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund.