How being Miss America has changed Betty Cantrell

Betty Cantrell’s deep roots in the Georgia clay helped keep her head together under the crown of Miss America.

From hobnobbing with celebrities to holding frail hands in hospital beds and singing her heart out for troops, it has been an incredible year for the young woman who celebrated her 22nd birthday belting out the national anthem at Mercer University on Sept. 1.

It was her last downtime in a very up year, and this appearance was personal.

There were no handlers on this jaunt, so no media interviews were allowed.

She bypassed her trove of Joseph Ribkoff dresses and Sherri Hill gowns and instead sported jeans and a Bears orange jersey twisted at the midriff, revealing just a hint of belly button.

Soldiers and public safety officers held a giant star-spangled banner behind her.

As only the second Miss Georgia to win the title, her travels give her an even greater appreciation for the soil under her gladiator sandals.

A year ago, she entered the arena of stardom and “her sweetness is still there,” said one of her mentors.

“The way I was raised here in Middle Georgia, I was taught so much about what it means to appreciate what is given to you, and how to be humble and kind,” Cantrell wrote in an email interview with The Telegraph during in her final days as the nation’s premiere beauty queen. “Southern kindness and hospitality is a real thing, and I think that has helped me stay true to myself during my year of service.”

She accompanied U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva on a USO tour that included a drop down in Iraq.

Students across the land, including at her high school alma mater Mount de Sales Academy, heard her lecture on being healthy, and she sheared her wavy brown hair for charity before Christmas.

Reflecting on what really resonated with her, it wasn’t handing out country music awards, the applause while opening for the Oak Ridge Boys or the endless posing and picture taking.

It was a moment of silence.

Standing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in July, only the clicking of camera lenses could be heard as she placed a wreath of white flowers on the grave.

She wiped tears from her eyes as slow, deep drum rolls led into a lone bugle playing taps.

“That was definitely a defining moment for me. I was extremely overwhelmed by the experience, especially coming from such a strong military background in my family,” Cantrell said during the email interview.

Shortly after the service, she texted father.

Mike Cantrell, who graduated from Georgia Military College and spent six years as a ranger in the Army, said those few steps she took toward that marble monument were a touchstone in his own life.

“My military service did not make me a part of America,” he said last week. “What made me a part of America was when she laid that wreath.”

He saw his daughter only three or four times in the 12 months since she stepped from the boardwalk and dipped her toes in the Atlantic Ocean on her first morning as Miss America.

“It seems fast,” Mike Cantrell said. “It just seems like yesterday that she was crowned.”

Betty and her mom, Tassie Cantrell, reunited a few times on the road, including the 2016 Miss Georgia pageant.

They had been rendezvousing at the River Center for the Performing Arts since 2014, the year Betty first dabbled in pageants.

While waiting for the Peach State to pick a new princess, Betty took the stage.

Her off-the-shoulder purple gown fanned out from the waist as she crooned “I Will Always Love You,” the iconic Whitney Houston hit from the movie “The Bodyguard.”

During a musical interlude in the song, she stepped forward to say goodbye.

“Thank you to everybody who made this journey possible for me,” she said, with a nod to the state pageant and the board of the Miss Warner Robins pageant.

As the music swelled, she finished the final lines.

“I wish you joy, and happiness ... but above all, I wish you love.”

Emotion overtook her during the ovation.

For her live national television farewell, she will be singing a new tune.

Don’t expect the operatic soprano of “Madame Butterfly” that clinched the crown, or the Eponine ballad from “Les Miserables” she sang with the Macon symphony.

Betty is not bound for Broadway, but moving later this year to Nashville with her beau, who will manage her career.

When asked how the year has changed her goals, she noted the connections she has made in the music industry.

“I have put Broadway on hold for a while and have decided to let my love of country music shine!” she replied.

She will still have time for the home folks.

Already, a “Meet Miss America 2016” red carpet walk event is planned for the Amstar Theater in Macon at 6 p.m. Oct. 9, to benefit cancer victims.

She pledges to use her scholarship money to complete her degree online at Mercer University.

Her father says she has already recorded some new songs written just for her.

“I would love to see her turn this Nashville opportunity into something that’s enriching for her,” he said.

A video clip on his phone shows Betty dancing by herself at her birthday party, lip-syncing her own music.

She’s happy to be headed back south where there is a “Chick-fil-A on every corner!” she exclaimed when emailing about what she missed, including the “wide-open spaces of my country home.”

“I have learned that although we are all very different … we are all so similar at the same time. We are all God’s children and I’ve loved being able to see so many different parts of the country and our world.”

She has relished her role.

“This year has changed me forever and I’ll never forget all of the opportunities that it has given me in my career and providing scholarship assistance that will allow me to graduate college debt free.”

Her family sees a new maturity and greater confidence, but say her “sweet soul is still intact.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2016 at 11:38 AM with the headline "How being Miss America has changed Betty Cantrell."