“And the new Miss Oklahoma is …”

Elizabeth Kinney held her breath in anticipation as the announcement was made. She sat nervously on her father’s lap, eyes glued to the television set in her family’s Mooreland, Okla., home.

As a child in northwest Oklahoma, Elizabeth had many dreams for her future. She wanted to be an astronaut, a teacher and even a U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspector. But Kinney lived out one of her biggest childhood aspirations serving as Miss Oklahoma 2004.

Through FFA Elizabeth developed a passion for public speaking that spurred her interest in pageants. “Without a doubt, FFA helped me get to Miss Oklahoma,” Kinney said. “No where else could I have gotten the public speaking, leadership and goal-setting experience.”

Both of her parents are teachers, and her dad, John Kinney, is the agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor in Mooreland, Okla. It is no wonder that Kinney developed her passion for agriculture and FFA at an early age.

Elizabeth said she started to see her life change in the eighth grade when she attended her first Made for Excellence conference. “My first MFE experience taught me the importance of setting goals and making good decisions,” said Kinney. “It was then I knew I could do anything I wanted.”

Elizabeth said her high school experience was just like anyone else’s. She graduated with 26 people and was very involved with cheerleading, National Honor Society and other organizations. However, she found her niche in FFA. She served as the state FFA reporter in 2000-01 and later as a national presenter for the MFE conference.

Because of her agricultural background, Elizabeth’s platform as Miss Oklahoma was a campaign to end hunger in Oklahoma. Her fellow FFA members decided to support that effort with the Living To Serve Food Drive held during the 2005 state FFA convention. According to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, FFA chapters set a single day event record with 41,275 pounds of food collected! “I had no idea how big the food drive would be,” said Kinney. “I was just blown away.”

Elizabeth graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agricultural communications. She was named a Top 10 Senior from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and an Outstanding Senior for the university. She earned over $40,000 in scholarships by competing in pageants.

Elizabeth said no matter where her life takes her, she would continue to support FFA. “Don’t get discouraged when things don’t go your way,” Kinney said. She reminds members that it took her four years of competition to win the Miss Oklahoma crown. In high school, she wanted to win a state FFA speech contest, and that took her five years. In 2000, she represented Oklahoma in the National FFA Extemporaneous public speaking finals.

“Just don’t give up,” Kinney added. She also stressed the importance of leadership. “Don’t follow the crowd,” she said. “Be a leader and really set the standard for everyone else to follow.”