Garner Juneteenth pageant honors Wake County teens with scholarships

Garner turned Juneteenth into a youth pipeline for local students when the Say Y.E.S. Foundation hosted its first Mr. and Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant and awarded scholarships to teens from Wake, Johnston and Harnett counties. Timothy Rouse was crowned 2026 Mr. Juneteenth, and Kaleigh Hilliard was named Miss Juneteenth, giving the inaugural event a clear academic and civic payoff, not just a ceremonial one.

The June 13 event was built as more than a pageant. Say Y.E.S. Foundation’s materials described it as a program centered on workshops, community engagement and scholarship opportunities, with training in fashion, dance and step, etiquette and leadership, public speaking, personal branding, financial literacy, health and wellness, and community service. Registration materials showed the pageant was open to students in grades 7 through 12 and, at least in the contestant materials, to youth in Harnett, Johnston, Wake, Wayne and Wilson counties if they had a 2.75 GPA or higher.

That setup matters for families because it creates a visible path from local participation to scholarship support and public recognition. For sponsors, it offers a recurring way to invest in students who are already being pushed to develop interview skills, presentation, confidence and service records. The foundation said the pageant was designed to celebrate youth excellence, leadership and cultural pride, making it a vehicle for both celebration and student development across Wake County and nearby communities.

The evening also doubled as a cultural showcase. Performances came from Shawn Coco McMillian, Kimberly Michelle and The Gifted Arts, adding stage production and entertainment to a program that tied Juneteenth to education. Natasia McLean, founder and president and executive director of the foundation, has described the organization’s work as youth empowerment through education, service and leadership development. Karen McLean, the pageant director, said the goal was to make every participant feel seen, valued and capable of making a difference.

Juneteenth gives that message historical weight. The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas informed enslaved people of their freedom, and it became a federal holiday in 2021. Garner has also been building its own observance around the date. The town scheduled its 2026 Juneteenth Celebration for June 20 at 11 a.m. at the Garner Performing Arts Center, with a theme focused on telling the story and recognizing the importance of Black landowners in Garner’s early days. With a town celebration and a scholarship pageant both taking shape, Garner is building a local Juneteenth tradition that can reach students, parents and sponsors year after year.