Lorelai Canady is a senior Homecoming Queen Court Candidate. She is very excited for this opportunity to “represent [Heritage] well.” During her four years at HHS, Canady has cheered, while also being an active member of her community. Canady serves in the Salvation Army, helping out at her church, and serving in kids’ ministry. This summer, she went on a mission trip to Peru.
She enjoys spending time with friends from her church, playing the guitar, and sitting on her back porch. She considers herself an “open book” because she “tells everyone everything.” To put herself out there for voters, she is “being friendly to everyone” and trying to have those small interactions with not only upperclassmen, but underclassmen as well.
In addition, she is also becoming more involved in clubs, and joining the theater program for her first year. Instead of competition with other candidates, she wishes to have fun. She said, “I’m really excited to decorate my golf cart and coordinate with it, because I have a really cute dress for it. I’m just excited to be on the court with all the girls.”
Canady is excited to spend time and walk with Ms. Lauren Peters, her sponsor. Peters was “honored” when Canady chose her. Peters said, “I think she’s incredibly talented and really fun getting to know her, and I think it’s going to be a really good day.” In the end, Canady believes that voters should “look at the qualities that each person has and decide who you most align with,” as well as “who represents the school the best.”
17-year-old Ashley Hamilton, a senior at Heritage High School, is running for this year’s Homecoming Queen. Known for her kindness and sincerity, Hamilton says her campaign is less about competition, and more about representing her school with pride and authority.
Hamilton is active in HHS cheer, HHS track, HOSA, and SGA. Hamilton balances these athletics with leadership and community service. She admits she didn’t expect to be chosen as a candidate but feels honored by the opportunity and things that this could bring for her.
“I just want to be myself while helping others,” she said, emphasizing that she hopes her classmates will see her genuine personality.
Many friends and students describe Hamilton as supporting and uplifting. Emma Watson, who has known Hamilton since middle school, described her as sweet and encouraging, and said she has the ability to make people smile. Ella Grace Tucker, another close friend since Pre-K, highlighted Hamilton’s school spirit and friendliness.
Hamilton also shares moments from her school life on Instagram, giving classmates another way to connect with her. While she’s unsure why the voters should pick her over the other candidates, both friends support her by saying she would make a great Homecoming Queen for our school; that she would be perfect for the spot. Hamilton stated that she’s grateful for the recognition and excited to be a part of the tradition. Whether she wins or not, Hamilton says the experience has already been rewarding. “It means a lot just to be nominated. I’m thankful for the support,” said Hamilton eagerly.
Heritage High School’s own Addi Dills is running for Homecoming Queen. Dills is a 17-year-old senior who is popularly known for being active in track, flag football, and FCA. Dills is an incredible leader and makes sure everyone feels included, according to Dills’ HoCo sponsor, Emily Lones. Coach E. Lones was Dills’ sponsor last year too and her flag football coach.
Coach E. Lones talked very highly of Dills, and said she was super excited to sponsor Dills again this year as she did the previous year. There’s no doubt about it that Dills and Coach E. Lones have a great relationship, with lots of things in common. Coach E. Lones says that Dills not only leads by her words, but she also leads by her example. Basically, Dills is just who she is. “She eats a Lunchable for lunch every day, like she’s five,” Coach E. Lones shared as a display of the two’s bond.
Dills was a junior class representative last year, and was excited to be chosen for a Homecoming Queen candidate this year, with suspicions soon before that she would get elected. To put herself out there, Dills has been reaching out to a large variety of people. Dills believes she has always been good at branching out and speaking to people, especially in her own and other grades.
Dills doesn’t have any specific reason to be chosen over the other candidates; she believes it’s simply their choice. Although if you would like to reach out to Dills on her social media, her Instagram is “Addidills32”.
Dills has expressed her excitement on running for Homecoming Queen this year, but she’s most excited about a few things in particular. Dills loves being with the other girls running for Homecoming Queen and seeing everyone’s dresses. Dills had a lot of fun last year being chosen as a class representative, and loves spending time with the other girls.
Meet Tru Johnson, a member of the Homecoming Court this year. Johnson described the experience as a surprise and great honor when she was chosen. “I was completely surprised,” she said. “One of my friends was so surprised she even jokingly said that she peed a little bit. I think I was silly in the photos because I was just bouncing around, so happy.”
Johnson is most looking forward to walking out in her red dress alongside her family and then celebrating with friends once the announcement is made. “I’m just excited to be there and to enjoy the game afterward with everyone,” she said.
Outside of school, Johnson is busy with work, hanging out with friends, and volunteering at football games. She also has a playful influencer persona, sporting a side TikTok account “truseverydaylife” on which she does unboxings and Seven Brew reviews with friends. Her creative energy extends to Instagram “tru_j0” and YouTube as well, where she creates content for her friends.
When she was asked why the electorate should vote for her, Johnson was modest: “I love all the other candidates, so this is difficult to say. Choose me if you like me, but honestly, if someone else wins, I’ll be happy for them as well. To me, it’s all love.”
If you did not already know, Johnson provided some fun facts: she once obliterated a mailbox with her car during Homecoming dress shopping — which she jokingly terms “true commitment” — and her favorite color is blue.
No matter what happens, Johnson says she’s simply grateful to be able to represent her school and go through the process with her friends.
Tia Eaves is a 17-year-old senior who is best described as an angel on earth. If you can rely on one thing on here at Heritage, it’s Eave’s kindness and generosity. Her outstanding personality has scored her a place on the Homecoming Court as well as a sponsorship with Mr. Dodson!
Eaves has worked very hard throughout her high school career to fit into many different communities and to spread joy. Eaves was also the Homecoming representative during her freshman year, which makes her a great choice for this year! Eaves has a very sweet disposition and is very easy to get along with. Outside of school, Eaves is very involved in her youth ministry. She also plays tennis and works at a yacht club, teaching kids to sail. “I just love being outdoors, reading the Bible, and connecting with my friends,” said Eaves.
Eaves was very honored by the nomination, especially since this is her last year here at Heritage. “I’m just excited to represent our class,” Eaves said. “I’m getting to be part of the parade, and I’m getting to celebrate with my favorite teachers and friends, then having the ceremony and having my family here and celebrating senior year with some really special people.”
Eaves was unsure about her nomination for Homecoming Queen this year. She said, “Since I was chosen for freshman year I was suspicious but I didn’t know, because I thought there were so many other girls that were worthy of it. I was just kind of shocked.” Eaves is the perfect embodiment of what it means to be a Heritage General, and even more so, who our Homecoming Queen should be.
Addyson Morrison was chosen to represent the class of 2027 for Homecoming this year. She is involved in many extracurricular activities such as HOSA, Partners Club, and volleyball. She is known by her friends as being an outgoing and compassionate person who is always there to help fellow classmates out. One word that Morrison describes herself as is “wholesome.”
Morrison believes it was truly a privilege to be chosen to be part of something so meaningful and memorable. “I believe it is a very cool and exciting thing to represent your class,” Morrison said. “I’m honored I was chosen to do it.”
While Morrison herself did not directly campaign for this role, her friends all came together and made a social media post encouraging the junior class to vote in her favor. The post included her hobbies, the clubs she is involved in, and a list of reasons why people should vote for her. Morrison believes that this is one of the main reasons she was elected onto the court.
She chose Coach Kim Carter, the PE teacher at the middle school, to be her representative; she views Carter as a role model and a mentor. “She’s always been there for me, she’s very kind and outgoing, and she always believes in me,” Morrison said.
Overall, Morrison is very excited for this opportunity and is honored to represent her class.
Lyla Bible is this year’s sophomore representative for Heritage High School’s Homecoming Court. She is known for her friendly nature and kind heart.
“I always thought it would be cool to be a part of Homecoming and something I would really enjoy,” Bible said. “I thought it would be a cool high school experience to look back on, and it means a lot to me that people put my name in and thought of me when it came to representing my grade.”
Bible excels in many extracurricular activities here at our school, including both spirit and competition cheerleading, as well as a competitive All Star League outside of school. She would like to eventually cheer in college and potentially work in education.
Bible didn’t ever directly campaign for her role in Homecoming. She was nominated by the majority of the sophomore class without ever asking them. “I think people nominated me because I am very friendly and I talk to a lot of different people,” Bible said. “I try to make friends with people I normally wouldn’t be around.”
“Lyla is a very sweet person who is very nice to everyone,” Bible’s friend Paityn Guthrie said. “She makes everyone feel included, and she is a great representation of what Heritage is.”
Bible’s sponsor is Mrs. Meredith Burkett. Mrs. Burkett is the Home Economics teacher at Heritage Middle School, as well as one of the cheer coaches at the high school. Bible said she chose her because she makes everyone feel important and is a very supportive teacher.
“Agreeing to be Lyla’s sponsor was an easy ‘yes!’ Lyla is such a treasure. She is kind, caring, hardworking, and consistently goes above and beyond in everything she does,” Mrs. Burkett said. “Lyla’s classmates nominated her because they recognize her genuine character and the joy she brings to their class.”
Overall, Lyla Bible is an exemplary student who not only is an incredibly kind person but also a student who excels in many extracurriculars. It is such an honor to have her as our sophomore class of 2028’s Homecoming representative.
Vivien Kwon, a kind and friendly Freshman with great leadership skills, has been nominated onto Homecoming Court and is excited to be a part of it. “I’m excited for the parade and the golf cart,” Kwon said. “It’ll be fun to throw candies and ride in the cart.”
For the parade, she chose her seventh and eighth grade ELA teacher, Mrs. Stacy Dunfee, to be her escort. Kwon chose her due to one big impact she had on her life. “I chose her because I got a 77 on a quiz in her class.” Kwon said. “Some of you might know how I bawled my eyes out on her that day. I was crying a lot, and Mrs. Dunfee said, ‘It’s fine. It’s not the end of the world. You’re gonna fail every day.’ I think that saved me a lot, changed my life, and made a giant impact, so this is my way of choosing her and saying thank you.”
Mrs. Dunfee accepted the role happily. She said, “I agreed to be Vivien’s escort because she is an outstanding young woman who represents the very best qualities. It’s an honor to support someone so genuine, hard-working, and dedicated.”
Kwon believes people nominated her because of her good traits. “One of my friends, Iris Lee, said that she nominated me because I’m very nice, hardworking, and she respects me,” she said. Another friend, Aarushi Patel, said, “I nominated her because she’s been great at everything she’s done ever since elementary school. She’s been a great leader throughout middle school, being the president of Reveur and National Junior Honor Society. She’s the president of the freshman this year, and she’s great at that, so I thought she would be great for the HOCO court, representing our grade.”
Her friends described her as popular, friendly, bubbly, and driven, while Mrs. Dunfee described her as exceptional. Considering her arrival on the court, I think all of the freshmen can agree.
