Barnwell teen competes at Miss S.C. Teen USA pageant
Published in the March 15, 2023 edition of The People-Sentinel. Front page, 10A.
Anna Kate Richardson is the first Miss Barnwell County Teen USA to represent the county at the annual Miss S.C. Teen USA pageant held in North Charleston.
Richardson, a 17-year-old junior at Barnwell High School, competed against 38 women in the teen division at the state pageant. She was a finalist in the top 16 and was voted the People’s Choice winner.
“It felt really cool that I was the first Miss Barnwell,” said Richardson. “It was really cool meeting all the new girls that I've never met before and doing a state pageant because that is something that I've never done.”
“It was a moment I don't think I'll ever forget, it was just one of those moments that you see your child live a dream that she's had since she was six,” said Richardon’s mother, Kim Bradley Richardson.
On the weekend of March 3 and 4, Richardson stepped out of her comfort zone and onto the stage at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center – something she’d worked for since starting pageants at the age of six.
Although she took a break from competing during her adolescence, Richardson found her way back to pageantry when she won a school pageant and then was named Miss Frog Jump at the Town of Springfield’s annual frog jump and egg strike in the 18 to 25 division at only 16. When crowned as Miss Frog Jump, Richardson was the only competitor in the under 18 division so she was moved up a division and won despite the age difference.
This event ended up being pivotal in Richardson’s career as she met Meera Bhonslé, Miss S.C. USA 2022. Bhonslé introduced Richardson and her mother to the idea of competing on a state level.
Before the Richardson’s knew it, they were in contact with Barnwell locals and RPM Productions Inc. contestant coordinator Jeri Lyn Ridgeway and recruiter Riley Ridgeway to navigate the Miss S.C. Teen USA pageant.
“While this was Anna Kate’s first pageant with us, it was easy to recognize that she has a bright future in the modeling and pageant world. She is not only beautiful, but sweet and kind, and we look forward to the day that she returns to us to compete again,” said Riley Ridgeway.
RPM Productions Inc. is based in Aiken and has been affiliated with the Miss Universe Organization since 1979. The preliminary competition company coordinates state pageants for North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Alabama.
“I truly do love doing pageants,” said Richardson. “Since this was my first state pageant, I didn't quite know what to expect and it really was a great experience.”
One of the biggest differences in this pageant compared to others Richardson competed in is that her mother, Kim, wasn’t allowed to help her prepare.
Due to this, both Richardson and her mother were thankful for a fellow contestant with close ties to Barnwell County – Hunter Dest, representing Sea Islands.
Dest, who finished as the second runner-up and was voted Miss Photogenic in the Miss South Carolina USA 2023 competition, served as a wealth of support for Richardson.
“She was amazing,” said Kim of Dest. “We know that she is not necessarily from Barnwell, but her mom (Ouida Swann Dest) is. She took her under her wing and made sure her dresses were zipped, her shoes were done, made sure she was calm, just all of the things that she's used to having mom back there to do and mom couldn't be there. Hunter kind of took over and was her pageant mom.”
“She was like my big sister,” said Richardson.
Before the pageant, Richardson spent nearly every day in Columbia practicing for the interview, fitness, and modeling aspects of the competition with coach Allie Bowen. When not in Columbia with Bowen, the Richardsons were in Springfield with Deanna Williams – a pageant coach she had worked with since she was six years old.
In September 2022, Bowen held a fashion expo in Columbia where Richardson’s career became elevated.
“She just got back from Fashion Week in New York,” said Kim. “She was able to model on the runway for fashion week and we've kind of been contacted about going to Paris next fall.”
Richardson wore a dress from the brand AlycesaundraL, founded by 15-year-old designer Alycesaundra Lyerly, during the first week in New York. AlycesaundraL also designed the outfit Richardson wore during her opening number at the Miss SC Teen USA pageant. The other designer Richardson modeled for was Camilla Couture based in London.
“I definitely want to do more runway shows. I love doing that in New York and I want to get more practice and so I'm hoping we can go to Paris,” said Richardson.
One of the best parts about these experiences are the relationships both Richardson and Kim have made along the way. Each pageant brings new friends.
“Some of the girls in my dressing room, we got really close because we would just have to sit there for four hours,” said Richardson.
These relationships provide a wealth of support as both pageant competitors and pageant moms feel similar stresses the day of the competition.
“We made so many friends,” said Kim. “I can't tell you how many people we've added on Facebook from just this weekend, or on Instagram that have reached out to us.”
Social media is helpful in staying connected with these friends, and also serves as a platform for Richardson to share her acts of service through Anna Kate’s Acts of Kindness, or AK Squared, where she mentors, organizes events for, and spends time with children.
One of Richardson’s biggest projects was a Halloween costume and activity drive in October 2022 for children in the Augusta Children’s Hospital.
“The community was so helpful,” said Kim of the Barnwell community’s support of this drive.
Richardson has visited the Ronald McDonald House with Twitty’s Mud Bog to deliver a donation and tour the facility, and also participated in First Baptist Church of Barnwell’s Trunk-or-Treat as well as the City of Barnwell’s Christmas Parade.
Outside of pageantry, Richardson is a member of the Beta Club and on the varsity and competition cheerleading team at Barnwell High School. She has also been participating in Palmetto Cheer Elite in Aiken since she was 5 years old.
“I want to attend the University of South Carolina and I want to become an early childhood teacher,” said Richardson, who also has aspirations of furthering her modeling career.
Either route is supported by her parents, Kim and Charles, who are immensely proud of both of their children.
“We are trying to get her an agent to start the modeling thing, and so her daddy and I have agreed that if something comes with that, that she could take a gap year or two because we know this is the time for her to be able to do this,” said Kim.
Richardson does not currently have any upcoming pageants scheduled, but is looking forward to partaking in more competitions and furthering her modeling career.
To keep up with Anna Kate Richardson’s career, follow ‘Miss Barnwell County Teen USA’ on Facebook.
For more information on the Miss South Carolina USA pageant system, visit https://www.misssouthcarolinausa.com/. For more information on RPM Productions, visit https://www.rpmproductions.com/.