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Photo by Bill Green
Nichelle Hagins, Mrs. Frederick County, will compete this weekend against Mrs. title holders from five other areas of Maryland at Frederick Community College.
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Nichelle Hagins will be walking across the stage as Mrs. Frederick County this weekend.The Frederick real estate agent and mother of four will compete in the Mrs. Maryland America pageant, and aspires to become Mrs. America. Her goal is to help promote abstinence from sex before marriage and teach both adults and youth its importance. "With that knowledge, I would want them to be equipped to make healthy, necessary and well-informed choices for life," she said. Hagins, 40, has a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is active in the community. She is active with the Parent Teachers Association at Crestwood Middle School, and as an executive board member of the Frederick County Branch of the NAACP. This year, she also participated in a 5K to raise money for a nonprofit organization called the Concerns of Police Survivors. She is an abstinence instructor at her church, Trinidad Baptist in Washington. She is also a liturgical choreographer there. She was selected through an interview process to hold the title of Mrs. Frederick County earlier this year. It will be her first pageant. "I couldn't have done it without my loving and supportive husband, who is my best friend," Hagins said. By representing married women, she hopes to encourage and inspire married women and those who might consider marriage one day. "To let them know it can and will work with a commitment and a loving relationship built on friendship," she said. She wants married women to focus on finding their own purpose in life. The pageant takes place at Frederick Community College, where Hagins will compete against Mrs. title holders from five other areas of the state. Like Miss America, the competition does include a swimsuit and evening gown section. But Hagins said that they allow wraps during the bathing suit portion. She has selected her five outfits with the help of her husband, Kenneth Hagins. He said that he is grateful for the work his wife does to care for their children and keep the house in order. He and the children want to be supportive of her effort. The Haginses have been married for 16 years. "She's very goal-oriented, and this is one good way for her to set a goal for herself and achieve it," he said. "So I'm proud of her for that."
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