Heather Hopkins, the 12-year-old daughter of Brian and Kimberly Hopkins of Mathews, placed first in the talent competition in the Miss Virginia Pre-Teen category at the National American Miss pageant held on Aug. 8-10 at the Regency Marriott in Reston.
In addition to winning the state talent title, Heather also placed as second runner-up for the Top Model competition and will compete for the national Top Model title and the All American Miss title at nationals to be held in late November in Anaheim, California.
Heather played the piano and sang “Somebody to Love” by Queen. She has been studying with Patrick O. Productions in Mathews for about five years.
“I truly believe Patrick Billups deserves a lot of credit for not only Heather’s piano technique and knowledge of music, but also her love for performing arts,” said her mother Kimberly. “He has always been patient and encouraging, and probably Heather’s biggest fan, besides us.”
Heather also had the benefit of several voice coaches. She started with Natalie Clark at Patrick O. Productions, studied with Ron Boucher of the Eastern Virginia School of Performing Arts for several months, and is currently working with Regina South of Patrick O. Productions.
Heather takes dance lessons with Diggs School of Dance and has appeared in several productions of the Court House Players. She has a goal to eventually work on Broadway and in Hollywood.
Heather attends Ware Academy, where she maintains a 4.0 average and was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last year. She is working with Christine Britton and the Gloucester Moose Lodge to raise funds for a children’s production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” planned for December. Proceeds from that production will be used to feed people in the community that would not otherwise have an opportunity to enjoy Christmas dinner.
Auditions for this program will be held Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Moose Family Center in Gloucester, from 1-3 pm. For more information, contact Britton at cbritton@brutonparish.org.
Heather had a number of individuals and businesses sponsor her in the state competition, including David Roberts (BayRidge Inc.), grandparents Steve and Debbie Whitt (Whitt Corporation), Hopkins Interior Services, Inc. (Mom and Dad), Peggy and Sam Zheng (Shun Xing) and David and Christine Britton.
“I also had several individuals hand us money in the grocery store and, if they read this, we are very grateful,” Kimberly Hopkins said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for the national competition (www.gofundme.com/heather-hopkins-for-all-american-miss). Local businesses can sponsor her by buying advertisements in the National Yearbook or writing a check directly to National American Miss. Checks written to National American Miss can be taken as a business expense for advertisement and your business will be listed in the yearbook, Kimberly Hopkins said.
For more information, email kim@hopkinsinteriors.com or call 804-725-4421. “We are overwhelmed and appreciative by the abundance of community support,” she said. “I never dreamed I would have a daughter that was blessed with so much God-given talent. It’s amazing to me that she has interests in pageants and can stand up in front of 1,000 people and give a flawless performance. It makes me emotional every time I watch her perform.”