Photo courtesy of Joe Whiteko Jefferson County’s Morgan Breeden sheds tears of joy as she is crowned Miss West Virginia. Breeden will go on to compete in the Miss America pageant in September.

Morgan Hope Breeden, Miss Jefferson County 2016, is heading to the Miss America pageant after being crowned Miss West Virginia last weekend at the Metropolitan Theatre in Morgantown.

“It’s been a whirlwind. I’ve been getting a lot of calls and when people call me Miss West Virginia, it’s just unbelievable,” Breeden said.

Tiffany Lawrence, former Miss West Virginia, was Breeden’s mentor during her service year in 2006. “It really has come full circle, because when I was crowned 10 years ago Morgan was there.” Lawrence said.

Lawrence went on to say she has maintained a close friendship with Breeden over the years and has “watched her grow into a magnificent woman.” Lawrence said she is confident Breeden will “inspire the people she meets to overcome challenges and meet there goals” throughout her year of service.

As Miss Jefferson County, Breeden worked hard to promote a strong anti-bullying message with the slogan, “Bullies Beware: I Have a Lion in My Heart!”

“I had to be put on homebound, a lot of people didn’t know, I was being bullied every day. I got to a breaking point and I couldn’t go back. I missed 12 consecutive days in the first week of school in the ninth grade,” Breeden said as she recounted her dealings with bullies in the past.

Breeden stated she was bullied for being overweight, a challenge she worked to overcome. Her piano coach Arthur Ebeling said that her success is a testament to her “resilient work ethic.”

Ebeling also commended Breeden for the sincerity in her character stating, “there are no gimmicks with Morgan, she truly cares about her platform and is committed to doing what she can to get the message out.”

Breeden said that she already has plans for her upcoming service year as Miss West Virginia.

“We have 100 school tour, but I want to far exceed that and visit the 771 public schools in the state of West Virginia by whatever means necessary, because my goal is to share my story in the hope I can prevent children from being bullied like I was,” she said.

Breeden will compete for the title of Miss America at the annual competition, which will be held September 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.