Fayette Co. Czech Heritage Society Chapter Seeks Queen Candidate
The Fayette County Chapter of the Czech Heritage Society of Texas is seeking a queen candidate to represent the area and compete at the Miss Texas Czech-Slovak Pageant in April. Candidates must be between the ages of 16-26 and of Czech, Moravian, Slovak, or Rusyn heritage. The Fayette County Queen will have the opportunity to win prizes and scholarships at the local, state, and national levels, including a trip to the Czech or Slovak Republics.
Interested young women are invited to attend the next meeting of the Fayette County Czech Heritage Society to meet the current Miss Texas Czech-Slovak, Madison Murphy and the current Miss Czech-Slovak US, Lauren Gerik.
Madison Murphy is the 2021 CHS Miss Texas Czech Slovak Queen. She is the daughter of Jason and Anita Murphy of Abbott. Madison attends Abbott High School and will be a Junior this year. She is a member of SPJST Lodge 6, Cottonwood. Madison actively participates in the McLennan Hill Czech Heritage Society, Sokol West Gymnastics, KJZT Junior Division of Abbott, JCDA of West and volunteers at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church as a CCD teachers assistant.
She is a member of the National Honor Society, participates in academic UIL, cheerleading, athletics including volleyball, softball and track. Madison is also taking dual credit courses through Hill College. After high school graduation she plans to pursue a bachelor degree in dental hygiene and then apply to dental school with the ultimate goal of becoming a dentist. In her free time, Madison enjoys quilting and sewing and has personally designed and constructed several quilts and kroje including an authentic Bohemian kroj.
Miss Czech-Slovak US 2021-2022 Lauren Gerik was crowned in August of this year in Wilber, Neb. Lauren is from Abbott and graduated from Abbott High School in 2020. Currently, she is a sophomore English major at Texas A&M University in College Station and is on track to graduate in 2024 with her master’s degree in English and her secondary teaching certification. She plans to become a high school English teacher.
Lauren’s Czech ancestors immigrated from the villages of Trebanice in Southern Bohemia and Horni Sloupnice in Eastern Bohemia. Lauren was proud to receive the Authentic Kroj award at the national pageant for her modeling of an authentic replica of a kroj from her ancestral village of Trebanice. Before being crowned Miss Czech-Slovak US, Lauren was the CHS Miss Texas Czech-Slovak Queen 2020, as well as CHS Miss McLennan-Hill Czech-Slovak Queen 2019.
Since being crowned Miss Czech-Slovak US, Lauren has had the opportunity to travel throughout Texas, as well as to Iowa and Missouri, to attend Czech-Slovak cultural events. She has greatly enjoyed her time as National Queen and looks forward to continuing her travels throughout the country and beyond in 2022.
The meeting will be held in Hanslik Hall of the Texas Czech Heritage and Culture Center in La Grange, on Sunday, Feb. 6, beginning at 2 p.m.
For more information, contact Betty Danner at (512) 739- 7840 or bettyjdanner@yahoo.com.