Pageant
45th Arkansas Rice Festival Queen: Madeline Adams
Madeline Claire Adams, the 45th Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen was born in Jonesboro. She lived the first 8 years of her life on her grandmother’s rice farm in Otwell before moving to Jonesboro.
Madeline is 21 years old, and she is the daughter of Jon and Kim Adams. She is a senior biomed student at Arkansas State University. She is a classically trained pianist and believes that the arts should play an integral role in secondary education. Her plans are to attend medical school and become a dermatologist after strengthening her foundation of knowledge as a middle level science educator.
Madeline loves the outdoors. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, spending time on the lake, traveling, watching horror films, listening to music, and taking care of her dog, Porter Wagoner. She is employed by Nix Title Company.
Madeline’s motto is, as stated by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.”
Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen and her beautiful Court
Left to right:
Anna Meurer (1st Alternate)
Madeline Adams (Queen)
Alexis Adams (2nd Alternate)
Teen Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen: Hensley Bennett
Hensley Bennett is the daughter of Chris and Michelle Bennett and the Teen Miss Arkansas Rice Festival winner.
Hensley is 16 years old and lives in Wynne, Arkansas. Hensley’s mother Michelle was a former Miss Rice Festival Queen. Hensley is graduating a year early and is now a senior at Wynne High School. Her favorite class is English. She is a Wynne varsity cheerleader, the Vice President of the Junior Progressive Club, a student ambassador, a member of FBLA, and a member of FCA.
For fun Hensley likes to spend time with friends and family, read, sing for her church’s youth band and political parties, and go to the beach.
In the future, Hensley wants to go to Arkansas State University and become a Nurse Practitioner. She loves to promote the rice industry in the state of Arkansas because her grandfather is a rice farmer.
Hopefully in the future she will win the title of Miss Arkansas Rice Festival and go to Louisiana to represent Arkansas at the International Rice Festival.
Teen Miss Arkansas Rice Festival and her beautiful Court
Left to right:
Camille Joiner (1st Alternate Teen)
Hensley Bennett (Teen Miss Arkansas Rice Festival)
Harleigh Whittley (2nd Alternate Teen)
44th Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen: Haley Steele
Haley Steele, the 44th Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen was born and raised in Bono Arkansas. She is 21 years old. In 2020 she graduated from Arkansas State University as a Surgical Technologist where she is currently working at the Outpatient Surgery Center in Jonesboro.
Haley’s life motto is “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”.
