By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle's Lisa Speake, homecoming queen at Hartselle High School in 2004-05, returned home to Hartselle from Anaheim, Calif. recently after capturing third runner-up honors in a national scholarship recognition program spotlighting 49 state winners.
To commemorate the honor, she will receive a college scholarship and be recognized along with the other top five winners at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., later this year.
The competition was staged in Disneyland. Contestants were required to speak on "Why Someone Should Visit Their State" and submit a two-minute video on "What Is Special About My Hometown." They also wrote an essay, were interviewed by a panel of judges and competed in an evening gown competition.
The top 10 finalists answered questions on stage.
Speake earned an all-expenses paid trip to the nationals by winning the state title last April.
She said she entered the competition after getting a letter in the mail inviting 2004-05 high school homecoming queens to enter.
"I think the competition was a really good experience for me," Speake stated. "All of the girls were nice and it was a lot of fun.
"When I introduced myself," she added, "I had to repeat my name two or three times for some of the girls. They thought I had a Southern drawl. I also found out they didn't know what the word 'britches' means. Only myself and the girl from Arkansas knew they're the same as slacks."
Speake is a 2005 honor graduate of Hartselle High School. In addition to reigning as homecoming queen her senior year, she was vice president of the Hartselle High Chapter of the National Honor Society and Student Council, co-captain of the varsity cheerleaders, president of Les Amies and a member of Mu Alpha Beta and Key Club.
She graduated fourth in her class with a GPA of 4.1702 and received three college scholarships. They were a Presidential Scholarship from Birmingham-Southern, the James Carey UPS Scholarship and the Melvin Sanders Scholarship.
The daughter of Bob and Charlotte Speake, she plans to attend Birmingham-Southern this fall.