A video clip of when Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields was crowned Miss America 2017 was shown to the audience.
“I am thrilled and can’t be more excited,” said Costner, who introduced Shields to the stage.
“Hello, everyone,” said Shields. “I am so excited to be here. I am in a different state every 48 hours. This year, as Miss America, I’ve lived out of my two very overweight suitcases, but I have been counting down the days to be with you all in Pickens County. The very nice man in the very first video you saw, Mr. Jay Pitts, is actually the sole reason that I am Miss America. A little known fact, he was my judge at Miss Arkansas last July. Now, we’re great friends. I am forever grateful, and thank you so much to Jay Pitts for showing the legacy of passion and inspiring people.
“I was Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen in 2009, when I was 13 years old, and that kind of knocked me out of the pageant system for a very long time. But I saw the impact of what this organization does. And I watched my role models influence and impact an entire state with just one voice, and I wanted to do the same thing. But I also realized that it took a lot of hard work, and that I needed to be mentally and emotionally and spiritually mature enough to have that type of job. At the same time, I was painfully insecure. And I found pageants, and I ran to pageants, to kind of fill that void, fill that void of ‘See, you’re in pageants, you are pretty,’ or ‘See, you’re in pageants, you are successful,’ ‘See, you are in pageants, fill in the blank.’ I filled in that void having a crown on my head. And it took me a very long time to find confidence in myself and say yes this is a dream that I want and insecurities that I have are not going to be guidelines, as barriers. They are not going to map out my capabilities. The insecurities that I have, I will not allow them to kind of map out how far my brain thinks that I can go. So, after years of not competing in pageants but training for pageants, and finding out who I was, and finding my worth in just being, and finding my confidence, and finding my role models in people like we’ve gotten to meet tonight, I finally gained that confidence. Then, around a year ago, I competed for Miss Arkansas, thanks to Mr. Jay Pitts, and, a month later, became your Miss America. And it has been the most wild, most crazy, most insane, wonderful, hardest, most beautiful year of my entire life.
“And I want to tell you a story. I’m a part of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I’m the National Goodwill Ambassador for this year. And what that means is, I get to go directly into hospitals and hang out with the most courageous and wise and loving human beings. And I also get to go to events that raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“One time, I was in Denver, Colorado, and it was the very last room for the day that I was going to walk into. And I walked into this room, and there was this little boy with blond hair. He was eight years old, and his name was Chase, and he was sitting in his wheelchair, and he talked to me for roughly 15 minutes through his I-Pad, for he couldn’t talk. And so, he told me about his dog’s name, what his favorite color was, what his hobbies were, what he ate that morning. We talked for awhile, and he continued to tell me that he was going to try to take his first steps that day. So, I asked Chase, and I asked his father, who was there as well, if they wouldn’t mind if I stayed. And his Dad said yes and Chase said yes, as well. And Dad pulled out his phone to film for Mom. And they put Chase in this almost harness on this treadmill. And it faced the back wall, so we couldn’t see Chase’s face, but, as they put him in this harness, these nurses on either side of him guided him, as he took his first steps as an eight year old. And we couldn’t see his face, but we just heard him laughing. And, then as he turned around, it was the most joy I’ve seen radiate from a human being in my entire life. And it reminded me of two things -- of how important it is and how blessed we are to walk, but also how crucial and how important it is to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
“And that’s exactly what you all are doing here tonight. And that’s exactly what this facility here is doing in your community. It’s being a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s influencing the people around you. It’s impacting the culture of your community, inspiring others to be a part of something, to dream big, to dare greatly, and to dream and be excited about it. Yes, we’re going to have those insecurities, and yes we’re going to have those fears. But it’s so important and it’s crucial to be a part of something bigger.
“I’m a really firm believer that we’re all given gifts, and it’s our duty to find what those gifts are, find what sets our soul on fire, and love people with it. That is one of the things that I have learned most this year, when I’ve been across the country, and I’ve seen people like Jay Pitts, and I’ve seen places like this, and I’ve seen audiences like this, when you are recognizing how great of a facility like this is and how important it is to be a part of facilities and part of organizations like this in your community, to be a part of something bigger and to be a part of something greater than yourself, and giving back is beyond important.
“I hope and I pray that I have represented you all well this year, and I hope and I pray that I represent you all well in the next 24 days of being Miss America. Thank you all so much.”
“Miss America Savvy Shields," said Costner. "Absolutely. Please stand and give her a round of applause. She is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much, Savvy. for all that you’ve done and all that you’re going to."