Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Funk
Kaitlyn Funk was named Miss St. Clair County Volunteer 2026 on Oct. 13, 2024.
Homewood High School graduate Kaitlyn Funk was named Miss St. Clair County Volunteer on Sunday, landing her a spot in next year's competition for the crown of Miss Alabama Volunteer.
Funk fist got involved with pageants in 2020 after HHS did not hold their annual school pageant due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has since gone on to compete in the Miss Volunteer America system.
Miss Volunteer America is a nationwide, service-oriented scholarship program based in Tennessee that seeks to empower young women across the country through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities.
"Everyone always says this, but it's so welcoming. The state director, the volunteers and everyone on the Alabama Board, they know your name, they encourage you. They care about you. They love you," Funk said. "And then, not only that, but you have your sister queens that are competing with you. It never feels like a competition. The past three years that I have competed, it truly just feels like you're having a week with a bunch of friends and having fun and spending time together and getting to know everyone."
With the goal of being crowned Miss Volunteer America, Funk has competed in the Miss Alabama Volunteer pageant the last three years, being named as second alternate at this year's competition in July. She was then invited to represent Alabama at the National Sweetheart Pageant in Hoopeston, Illinois in August at their Sweet Corn Festival. Funk was the first ever Miss Alabama Sweetheart to bring home the crown.
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Funk
Kaitlyn Funk was crowned Miss National Sweetheart in August 2024.
The National Sweetheart Pageant program has been around since 1941, and it features state runner ups from the Miss Volunteer America Organization from across the country. The event includes a week of exciting activities leading up to the pageant. There were community service activities, sponsor events, a parade and even a night at the fair. Along with the national title, Funk was also named the evening gown prelim winner and fitness and wellness in swimsuit winner.
Now that she's qualified for the Miss Alabama Volunteer pageant, Funk has until July 2025 to prepare for the competition. If she were to win that pageant, she would move on to compete in Miss Volunteer America in June 2026.
When she's not competing in pageants, Funk is in school at Southern Union State Community College, majoring in cosmetology with a minor in business management and supervision. Her dream it to open her own salon in Nashville one day.
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Funk
Kaitlyn Funk graduated from Homewood High School in 2022, going on to major in cosmetology at Southern Union State Community College.
Until then, she plans to continue competing in pageants and serving the communities she is crowned in, working with St. Jude and the Salvation Army through the Volunteer system and promoting her personal mission to raise awareness about self harm.
Funk has earned several scholarships through competing in pageants, but she's also gained valuable experiences and lifelong friends.
"You have people from all over the state who are involved in the pageant and who are on the board," Funk said. "For the past three years, I've loved getting to know everyone, and I've still held those relationships onto my everyday life. And I think that what I would take away when I'm finished competing, I will take away the relationships and the people that I've met, because they've had such a big impact on my life."
