‘Not just about dresses and tiaras.’ Pageant newcomer wins Miss Tri-Cities 2025
Miss Tri-Cities 2025 Kylie Glendenning has been competing in pageants for only three years.
“I never saw myself as a pageant girl,” she told the Herald on Monday.
Growing up in a “country family” in Eltopia, Glendenning first learned about the Miss Tri-Cities competition through a handout in her church. Her mother asked if she’d be interested.
“I was first runner-up last year. This year, I decided to come back and ended up being the winner,” she said.
Glendenning, 19, will now spend a year preparing to compete for Miss Washington, making 50 to 75 appearances in the coming months.
She also will sing the national anthem at the Tri-City Water Follies events this weekend. Water Follies is a major sponsor of the Miss Tri-Cities Scholarship Program.
Glendenning got her start in pageantry because she was interested in the scholarship being offered by the Miss Connell Scholarship Program.
She was crowned Miss Connell 2022 when she was a junior at Connell High.
In 2023, Glendenning attended a Miss Tri-Cities meeting and decided to compete.
“I never realized that pageantry had so many real life connections,” she said. “The amount of networking skills that you learn in this program is insane.”
For the competition on Saturday, Glendenning made a girls’ trip to Utah to find her sparkly black dress.
“I am a big sucker for sparkles and glitter,” she said. “I usually wear something bold, like red or blue. But this year, I wanted some drama.”
Combating sex trafficking
Glendenning is passionate about her community service initiative as Miss Tri-Cities, The Freedom Project: Putting a S.T.O.P to Sex Trafficking. She described a three-pronged approach, pushing prevention, prosecution and protection.
She plans to raise money for “hope boxes,” the handmade therapeutic care packages that she creates for survivors of sex trafficking.
She’s already raised over $2,500 to make more than 80 boxes. The boxes include self-regulation tools and comfort items for survivors during therapy.
“I want to make 100 more and distribute them to nonprofits all over the Columbia Basin area,” Glendenning said.
During the last year, she’s met with local politicians, law enforcement officers, social service workers and nonprofit organizations to discuss how to address sex trafficking in Washington.
Earning scholarships
Glendenning wants to be a mental health counselor. She graduates in November with a bachelor’s in criminal justice and human services from University of Phoenix, and will pursue a master’s in clinical mental health counseling. She was a Running Start student at Connell High.
While competing for Miss Connell and Miss Tri-Cities, Glendenning has earned almost $20,000 in scholarships toward her education.
This year, Glendenning was awarded scholarships for having the top interview, top talent and Living Your Community Service Initiative.
Chiawana High School student Hadley Bleazard was named Miss Tri-Cities Teen 2025. Bleazard earned the teen award for Top Interview.
“It’s not just about dresses and tiaras,” Glendenning said. “This program is amazing for young girls to build them up in whatever they want to do.”
