Kayla Pittman, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Denson Pittman of Bogalusa, graduated from Bogalusa High School in 2011. She entered the Washington Parish Fair Queen contest, along with 10 other young ladies. Kayla was chosen Washington Parish Fair Queen over the other 10 contestants to become the first ever African-American Fair Queen. The fair celebrated its 100th birthday in 2011, and Kayla was the beautiful birthday gift.

As queen, she was required to attend the fair all four days, and she also had to attend five fairs outside of Washington Parish. She received a $4,000 scholarship to a Louisiana school of her choice, and she currently is attending Southern University in Baton Rouge, majoring in mass communications with a minor in public relations.

Kayla is also a member of the Dancing Dolls team at Southern, where she is classified as a sophomore.

Kayla said entering the Washington Parish Fair Queen contest helped her to face many challenges as she embarked upon her college career. She said she learned about patience and poise and competing in life’s situations.

This writer spent a few minutes interviewing Kayla and trust me, she is a very charming young lady, focused and well on her way to make a great contribution to our American society.

We applaud your every endeavor, Kayla, and wish you God speed.