Miss Teeny USA donates teddys

Perry Police Department received several large boxes of plush teddy bears and several bags of toys from Miss Teeny USA Macie Ann Conner on behalf of Kay Jewelers. Donations from the money received from the purchases of the 500 bears sold will go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. 

Macie Ann Conner has been competing in pageants since before she could walk—at the surprisingly young age of six months. Now four years old and already holding the title of Miss Teeny USA, Conner has her whole future ahead of her.

Supporting her every step of the way are Conner’s parents, Kasey and Aaron Conner. Aaron is a corporal of the Perry Police Department’s K-9 Unit and Kasey has managed and worked for Kay Jewelers for several years. Together they helped Conner do what she has come to love most—helping people. “I like to call her a ‘queen for the cause’ because she wanted to give back to the kids,” Kasey said proudly.

Conner has held the titles from several pageants over her young life. Among the newly acquired titles since the beginning of 2020 are Miss Teeny Houston County Forestry and Miss Teeny Georgia Turpentine. Kasey described the award with pride for her daughter, “She had the prettiest smile, prettiest hair, prettiest dress, prettiest pose on stage [and] projected herself well.”

Preparing for the pageants is part of the fun for the young queen. Between attending different events and tea parties, Conner has built several relationships with other children. “The friendships she makes are remarkable,” noted Kasey. “What’s neat is that they aren’t your typical pageant people. They’re all different, and that’s what she likes about it.” 

Parents Kasey and Aaron see the value and importance of nurturing their growing daughter in the pageant world. Learning valuable lessons of poise, etiquette, confidence and friendship, Conner can carry the new knowledge into avenues of her life forever. 

Proud of all their daughter has accomplished thus far, Aaron expressed, “For me it’s the dedication and the succeeding. Succeeding isn’t winning, necessarily. Succeeding is going through and doing things like they’re supposed to be done and learning and enjoying it. She’s found her niche in the pageant world.”

Kasey echoed her husband’s words by saying, “Being proud is an understatement. It’s really neat to see someone so little be so mighty and fearless.”

One of the major benefits of pageantry is instilling the drive for community contributions. In fact, signing contracts to commit to being active in the community is one of the first duties of the winners of the competitions. Taking the opportunity to incorporate Kasey and Aaron’s careers with their daughter, the idea that Conner could donate the bears for children was immediately enacted. Each bear is priced at $15. When a client purchases an item from Kay Jewelers, they are extended the offer to buy a bear with 100% of the proceeds going directly to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Many will then donate the purchased bear back to Kay Jewelers and the company can choose a charity or non-profit organization to donate the bears to. The Perry Police Department was chosen, and they can utilize the bears by giving them to children when a traumatic situation arises and they need something to help calm the nerves of the affected child.

“When I told her we were going to be giving out teddy bears, Macie Ann was so excited because she knows what that means,” Kasey explained. Conner, like many children, sees the teddy bears as a comfort object. Though young, she was moved by the generous notion and also wanted to take a step further and use her own collected money to buy even more toys for the potential children affected in future situations. 

“As parents, we guide them. We lead them and support them,” Kasey declared fondly as she watched Macie Ann excitedly show off the toys from the bags she will be donating. “We love our community, and we want to instill giving back no matter what. It just makes the world go around; it really does.”

HHJ News