By Erica Thomas, managing editor
TRUSSVILLE — The 2020 Miss Trussville has been crowned. Harley Chapin, a University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate, will take on the title for one year.
Chapin has competed in the Miss Trussville pageant before and said she is thankful to take the title to Miss Alabama. It will be her fourth time competing in the state title pageant.
“The Miss Am
erica Organization has been phenomenal to me and so many other girls,” Chapin said. “I was never a super shy girl, but I would have never been able to get out in front of a huge crowd and talk to people the way I do now.”
Chapin’s impressive resume includes titles such as Miss UAB 2017, Miss Comfort Care 2018 and Miss Heart of Dixie 2019.
When she’s not dressing up and taking the stage, Chapin said she loves spending time in Trussville with friends. She has attended several special events and loves the food Trussville has to offer.
Chapin graduated from Shelby County High School. In Spring 2019, she graduated from UAB with a degree in art studio graphic design and a minor in communication studies. She plans to start her own freelance business in order to make time for her duties as Miss Trussville. Chapin was awarded a $2,000 scholarship. She plans to use the money to pay off her student debt, but she says scholarships are only a small part of what the Miss America Organization has to offer.
“The Miss America Organization has just really made me realize that my voice matters and my opinion matters,” Chapin said. “It helps us see there isn’t a difference between a man and a woman. We’re all equal and we can do everything that a man can do and sometimes we even do it better.”
Chapin also said Miss America and Miss Alabama teaches empowerment and sisterhood.
Chapin’s platform is “Recycle Life,” and she wants to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. A close friend recently found out he needed a heart transplant and Chapin took to the internet to find out more.
“After doing research on organ donation, I realized that not enough people are registered organ donors and a lot of people don’t understand what it means to be one,” she said. “It became important to me and my first fundraiser was to raise money for him.”
By selling T-shirts, Chapin raised $600 to go towards her friend’s medical bills.
Another issue Chapin is concerned about is the use of social media among her generation.
“We can sit behind a screen and comment whatever we want and I feel like my generation thinks there’s no consequence for it,” she said.
Chapin also said social media images can lead to false impressions.
“They show the good things,” Chapin said. “No one shows the bad things that are happening in their life, so knowing that there is always a downside. You don’t have to be like somebody else, and that isn’t even them anyways.
“But I also see the good in social media. It can do a lot of great things for my generation if we learn how to use it.”
In pageants, Chapin’s talent is clogging. She has been in dance for several years. Her other hobbies are softball and online window shopping.
“I might not always have the money for it, but I love looking at clothes online,” she said.
Chapin said of all her talents and hobbies, her favorite thing to do is eat. Her go-to? Pizza and Dr. Pepper.
Chapin hopes to encourage others to be their authentic self.
Miss Trussville 2020, Harley Chapin, with Miss Trussville 2019, Madison Ward.
“Don’t be afraid to be who you want to be,” Chapin said. “There is no right and wrong in this world to being a person. Have bad jokes and think they’re funny. That’s okay.”
Miss Trussville 2020 said she also prides herself on being authentic.
“I’m a handful and what you see is what you get! I love to joke even if no one is laughing,” she said. “I try to be well-rounded and good at everything. You can’t be good at everything, but I attempt it.”
