By Mimi Darley Dutton | [email protected]

While the Queen of England celebrated 70 years of her reign across the pond, Draper’s royalty transitioned from last year’s winners to Miss Draper 2022 Lauren Carn, and attendants Shaelyn Preede and Ashley Peterson. They were crowned at the June 7 city council meeting.

Under the direction of volunteer coordinator and former Miss Draper Mandi Brady, Miss Draper became a scholarship program instead of a pageant in recent years. The focus is on service, education, leadership and refinement. The winners no longer compete in the Miss Utah pageant. Instead, they each promote personally-chosen platforms during their year of service to the city.

Carn, the daughter of Brooke and David Carn, was a 2021 valedictorian of Corner Canyon High School. She will be a sophomore at the University of Utah where she’s on the Honors Dean’s list pursuing a BFA in theatre education. Her service initiative is “You Will Be Found—Improving Mental Health Through the Arts.”

“I have never been a pageant girl, but when I found out that Miss Draper is a scholarship program based on credentials including academics, that really intrigued me,” Carn said.

According to Carn, someone close in her life has struggled with mental health, but that person found happiness and healing through the arts.

“I’ve seen firsthand that having access to the arts can improve mental health, especially coming out of Covid. Even as audience members, I hope we can lift people’s spirits as they make more connections through the arts,” Carn said.

First attendant Shaelyn Preede serves as Youth Mayor for Draper’s Youth Council and National Honor Society president at CCHS where she’ll be a senior. She won an entrepreneurship award at an international DECA conference in Atlanta and she plans to pursue a career in business, but it’s her love of reading from an early age that led to choosing Literacy in Early Education as her platform. She is the daughter of Steve and Amy Preede.

Preede said it was the program’s focus on the pillars of service, education, refinement and leadership that also attracted her to participate. And her love of reading led to an easy choice for what she wants to promote. “My platform strives to foster a love of reading in every child, so our youngest Draper citizens can be prepared for their future and a brighter tomorrow,” she said.

Second attendant Ashley Peterson is a 2019 CCHS graduate and a BYU senior studying editing and publishing. She hopes to work in children’s fiction after graduation, but she’s also considering continuing on to law school. Her platform is promoting the city’s volunteer and service opportunities, a subject she’s well versed in after organizing an annual Christmas food drive with her mom and helping with new student orientation at BYU. She is the daughter of Brennan and Suzanne Peterson.

“When I was about nine, I went to city hall with my dad to get a passport and I saw a poster for the Miss Draper program. I told my dad I wanted to do it and he said ‘someday.’ When I found out about the new scholarship program…I thought it was perfect,” Peterson said. She plans to create a volunteer page on Draper City’s website so residents can see a clear calendar of opportunities, and she’ll serve as a volunteer coordinator for the city.

As her Miss Draper reign came to a close, Grace Meade addressed the crowd in city council chambers. She spoke about her platform “Bright Futures Begin with STEM,” something she became passionate about after a female biomedical engineer spoke to her class when Meade was in middle school. “I am forever grateful for this opportunity to serve and the scholarship that will help me fulfill 12-year-old Grace’s dream of being a biomedical engineer,” she said.

Among her many activities, Meade helped develop a new Miss Draper logo during her tenure.

Mayor Troy Walker thanked Meade for her year of service to the city. “She’s been very diligent. She’s an exceptional young lady,” he said. And he praised the program’s focus on scholarship. “It’s unique in the type of young lady it fosters and brings forward,” he said. “Not only are these ladies beautiful, they are absolutely wicked smart.”