14 June 2021 | parkcitiespeople.com
Community LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: GRACIE HUNT CROWNED MISS KANSAS USA
Pageants provide competitive outlet for SMU grad who works for dad’s NFL team By Maddie Spera
Special Contributor
E
ven from Kansas, Gracie Hunt is doing the Park Cities proud. Hunt, 22, was crowned Miss Kansas USA 2021 in April, but her Dallas ties run deep. The SMU graduate is granddaughter of Lamar and Norma Hunt, and daughter of Kansas City Chiefs part-owner and CEO Clark Hunt, of Highland Park. Gracie, who has competed for five years, was first exposed to the pageant world by her mother, Tavia Hunt. “And what’s so funny is Miss Kansas USA was the first pageant I ever watched,” Gracie said. “My mom asked if I wanted to go watch it with her, because she was Miss Kansas USA 1993, and former title holders go and sometimes watch the pageant.” Before getting involved in pageantry, Hunt played soccer but had to quit after four concussions. Competing in pageants provided a competitive outlet for her, and she enjoys its social aspect, too. “You make such amazing friends, and I think that’s truly the greatest blessing of it all,” Hunt said. “I’ve actually been a bridesmaid in two of my best friends’
FROM LEFT: Ava Hunt, Clark Hunt, Gracie Hunt, Tavia Hunt, and Knobel Hunt. Gracie Hunt is Miss Kansas USA. (PHOTOS: WILL PATTERSON) weddings who I met through pageants. You end up meeting a lot of people who have similar interests, and most girls who compete in pageants are really driven.” Hunt is grateful the pageant was able to take place in-person and followed social distancing guidelines to make competitors feel safe. She will never forget the moment she was crowned. “There were so many emotions going through my head,” Hunt
said. “I could see my mom in the audience, and she was crying, and I was trying not to cry. It was just very sweet and I really am grateful for what an amazing experience it was for everyone.” The moment was just as significant for Gracie’s mother who is excited to see what her daughter will do during her reign. “She has worked tirelessly pursuing this dream and it’s extremely rewarding to see her hard work pay off,” Tavia said. “I’m overwhelmed
with the joy of sharing this journey with her 28 years after I was crowned Miss Kansas USA. I know she will take every opportunity to serve others and spread her message of respect and inclusion this year.” Gracie works in marketing and brand development for the Chiefs, while pursuing her master’s degree in sport management at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. She serves on the Special Olympics Texas board, works with anti-human trafficking nonprofit
New Friends, New Life, and promotes respect and inclusion with her nonprofit, Breaking Barriers Through Sports. “I’m going to make the most of this year to really spotlight different organizations people can get involved with,” Hunt said. “I think it’s a great way to use this platform to lift up other people because there’s so much need in this world and no one person can do it all. But we can all do something to make a difference.”
$2.5M Needed to Preserve Historic Central Christian Church
Westside Drive campus houses school, several ministries, busy dog park
agreement that it wasn’t sustainable.” The town of Highland Park proposed buying the property for $7 million to potentially develop the land into a park. “The neighbors did say the preference would be for Blake to raise the money and all the life-changing work (on the campus to) continue,” Crawford said.
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
A Park Cities Presbyterian church staff member is working to save the historic Central Christian Church at 4711 Westside Drive. The congregation started in 1863 on the second floor of a downtown blacksmith’s shop and moved to its Westside Drive location in 1952. “It’s a really strategic location for building bridges between people from a wide range of backgrounds,” said the church’s last pastor, Ken Crawford. “That’s what I love about the campus.” Blake Schwarz, who serves as the director of faith and work at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, is leading an effort to raise an additional $2.5 million by June 15 to preserve the Westside Drive campus. Schwarz had raised about $1 million as of early May for saving what he calls “an estuary.” “It is one of the few locations where people can walk without crossing a freeway
W H AT ’ S T H E R E ? • The Central Christian Church campus houses several ministries: • Ethiopian Evangelical Fellowship; • The Gathering, an African American Church; Fundraising is underway to preserve the Central Christian Church campus at 4711 Westside Drive. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER)
from HP, Oak Lawn, a historically Black community to the north, and a historically Hispanic community to the west,” Schwarz said. “Genuine relationships can form (have formed) which is so desperately needed in our current cultural moment of division.”
Crawford said discussions about the future of the campus began before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Dallas last year. “Like a lot of churches, this congregation had been declining in numbers and financial resources for decades,” he said. “There was an
• Connecting Point Park Cities day program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; • 12-step groups; • Seedschool for children ages 3 to 8; • And a dog park serving more than 500 people weekly. Visit centralcommons.org.
