City leaders recognized reigning Miss Louisiana USA KT Scannell, a Denham Springs resident, during its council meeting on Monday, March 28, 2022. Pictured from left are council members Lori Lamm-Williams, Laura Smith, Robert Poole, Mayor Gerard Landry, KT Scannell, and council members Amber Dugas and Jeff Wesley.
Pictured is KT Scannell, a Denham Springs resident who was crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2022.
City leaders recognized reigning Miss Louisiana USA winner KT Scannell, a Denham Springs resident, during its council meeting on Monday, March 28.
Scannell, 22, received the Miss Louisiana crown among a field of 25 contestants during the statewide pageant held Feb. 20 at the Lafon Arts Center in Luling.
She will represent the Bayou State — and her hometown — in this year’s Miss USA competition.
“I am from Denham Springs, this is my home, and I’m so proud to bring such an honor back to our city,” she said.
Despite being raised near the capital city, Scannell loves to experience Louisiana’s unique wetlands and upland pine savannas, according to her Miss Louisiana bio. She connects most with her roots through beekeeping, hiking, and creole cooking.
Scannell spoke briefly of her pageant experience during Monday’s City Council meeting and said she plans to expand her initiative — Pollination Letters of Encouragement — over the upcoming year.
Through the initiative, Scannell hopes to spur more people to pen letters to people in need, something she has done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic after forming a special bond with an elderly woman who was under her care.
During the meeting, Scannell said she tells people “all the time to write to someone.”
“How much change could just a little bit of joy bring to someone’s life, and in that individual change, impact their whole world?” she asked the audience.
Scannell has competed in Miss Louisiana Teen USA competitions for the last few years, being named first runner-up in 2015 and 2016 and second runner-up in 2017 and 2018. She also won Miss Congeniality in the Teen Division in 2018.
In June 2021, she was crowned Miss Lafayette USA, which she represented in the Miss Louisiana USA 2022 pageant.
Winning the Miss Louisiana title and having a chance to compete for the national award aren’t the only milestones Scannell will enjoy this year: She is one month away from earning a Bachelors of Science in biology from Mississippi College and hopes to become a doctor of chiropractic.
Following her speech, Mayor Gerard Landry and the rest of the City Council presented her with a certificate of recognition “for her journey in being crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2022.”
“I am honored to be here and proud to be right from Denham,” Scannell said.
Details about the 2022 Miss USA Pageant have yet to be announced, but people can keep up with Scannell’s journey on her social media platforms: “Miss Louisiana USA” on Facebook and “@misslausa” on Instagram.
