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From her experiences from the previous two pageants, Rock said she knew what she had to do to win the title — and the $2,000 scholarship that goes with it.
“I knew I really, really, really had to work hard,” she said.
A 2006 Holmen High School graduate, Rock bested five other contestants, with Elizabeth Butler, a Holmen High School senior, named the first runner-up, and Elizabeth Rosendale, a 2007 HHS graduate, named second runner-up.
Rosendale won the Community Service Award and shared the Interview Award with Rock, who also won the Spirit of Miss America Award. Rock said she worked very hard on her interview skills and was thrilled to have tied with Rosendale, whose intelligence and wit she had admired when they went to school together.
“To come off as an equal with her was awesome,” Rock said.
Meghan Rinehart, a 2008 HHS graduate, won the talent portion of the competition with her operatic rendition of “The Laughing Song.” Brianna Herber, a 2007 HHS graduate, and Laura Gregor, an HHS senior, rounded out the field of contestants, who competed in swimsuit/fitness, talent, evening gown and interview categories.
The pageant also featured a heartfelt tribute to Kim (Goldsmith) Jackson, the 1987 Miss Holmen winner who took over as director of the pageant in 2003. Former Miss Holmen Jamie (Bettesworth) Schloegel called Jackson up on stage and told her she had been like a second mother to her and other pageant winners. She also presented Jackson with a crown pin, a prize for Miss Holmen winners that wasn’t in place when Jackson won the title.
Jackson is stepping down from pageant directing duties but will continue to serve on the pageant board. Bridget Pfaff, who has been involved in the Miss Holmen organization for about 10 years including two as co-director, will take over pageant director duties from Jackson.
As winner of the Miss Holmen title, Rock will represent Holmen next June at the Miss Wisconsin Pageant, the winner of which will advance to the Miss America Pageant.
Rock’s community service platform, “Your Voice, Your Vote,” aims to encourage people to participate in the democratic process. Rock is a junior majoring in political science, now studying at UW-La Crosse after two years at UW-Madison. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she intends to go to law school and is leaning toward going into public policy work.
“Knowing how politics works gives you a sense of power, knowing that you have the power to make changes,” Rock said.
On top of preparing for the pageant, Rock also has been busy this summer doing an internship in the La Crosse office of U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold.
This isn’t the first “miss” title Rock has won. A longtime member of the Warriors Baton and Drum Corps, Rock won the title of Miss Majorette of the North about five years ago. The interview process, though, was a lot less rigorous, she said, about two minutes compared with 30 minutes at Miss Holmen.
Rock has kept her baton twirling skills sharp, twirling as therapy for when college gets a little stressful, so she said she didn’t have to do a lot of work to get back into form for her talent performance at the pageant, a “showtwirl” that combines gymnastics, dance and baton twirling.
Rock’s parents, Gary and Beth Rock, and her older brother, Paul, were very excited for Hannah, and they were far from the only ones. The crew at the Main Street Kwik Trip in Onalaska, where Rock works, made up a big sign for the door announcing her triumph.
Both Rock and Pfaff said they were amazed at how well everybody got along and how hard everybody worked in preparing for the pageant. Pfaff said the camaraderie that developed could largely be credited to Raeanna Johnson, the winner of last year’s pageant who had all the contestants over to her house for a bonding get-together.
Pfaff said Johnson, who finished in the top 10 at Miss Wisconsin, did a tremendous job as Miss Holmen. “She represented this community well and challenged herself and grew herself and comes off with a maturity that you don’t find in someone who is only 18 and has just graduated from high school.”
Pfaff also sees good things ahead for Rock. “She’s definitely an outstanding candidate,” she said. “We’re excited to see what the year has in store for her.”
In addition to Johnson’s invaluable help, Pfaff emphasized that a lot of other volunteers work behind the scenes to help pull the pageant off every year.
“They are the backbone of this organization,” Pfaff said. “We have volunteers who have been a part of the organization for many years, and then there are those who are new. We have some high school students who volunteer, and at 11, my son Robert was even busy pushing the piano and helping out backstage.”
People interested in getting involved may call Pfaff at (608) 386-2177 for more information.
Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net or
(608) 786-6812.
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