Vinyl Creations by Christy offers customized commemorative items

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press 

Vinyl Creations by Christy is a new sponsor for the 8th annual Five Hills Scholarship Pageant, offering etched glass vases for the bouquet of roses that each of the older titleholders will receive and prize buckets for each of the younger titleholders.

The vases and prize buckets are customized with the titleholder’s title and year and will serve as something that the winners can keep and cherish forever. 

Business Owner Christy Liles has been involved in the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant for years now, from her children participating and becoming titleholders and from Liles competing herself in years past. 

Liles’ younger daughter Braelyn was Baby Miss Five Hills in 2017, and her older daughter Briana competed year after year as well before winning the title of Preteen Miss Five Hills in 2018. While serving as Preteen Miss Five Hills, Briana selected Alopecia Awareness as her platform of service and performed more than 800 hours of community service. She won the title of Five Hills Ambassador in 2019. 

Liles started her vinyl business last year, selling vinyl decals and vinyl shirts to start with. She eventually learned how to etch glass and purchased a sublimation printer to do sublimation. Liles said she takes pride in offering quality work and a quick turnaround time. She has her own group on Facebook for her business at https://www.facebook.com/groups/607363589795297/. 

She started her business as a way to bring in an extra income while her husband works and she stays home with their four children. Liles said that the extra income helps support their family outings and pays for the kids’ sports.

Liles said she wanted to be a sponsor because she likes what the pageant stands for but also because of the opportunity for her business. 

“I like that it isn’t just to dress pretty,” Liles said. “I like that they get out there and work, but I also saw it as a business opportunity for myself, to be able to advertise my business and for my business card and coupons and items that I’ve personally made to end up in the hands of people whom I don’t know who they are in hopes to help myself out as well.”

Even though Briana’s reign as a member of the Five Hills Royalty ended in 2020, the family still supports the pageant, attending the various events that the other titleholders organize, “because it’s meaningful,” Liles said. “Everything they do is something that’s from their heart that means something to them, so we just try to support them where we can.”

Liles is familiar with the hard work that the titleholders put in to raise funds and awareness for the causes close to their hearts. Briana herself raised more than $9,000 for the Children’s Alopecia Project during her two years with the Five Hills Pageant, and Braelyn managed to raise money for the Hope Pregnancy Center during her reign as well, Liles said. 

“I think it’s absolutely phenomenal,” Liles said about the impact the titleholders make on their community. “Most pageants, you go to the pageant, you win, you get a crown, you leave and that’s it. It’s not really teaching the girls anything- maybe teaching them to be pretty on the stage but being a titleholder and being in a pageant is a lot more than that. We’re supposed to be teaching our kids to give back and do for the neighbor, not ask what the neighbor can do for us, so I think it’s phenomenal what they do.”

Liles added that the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant also helps boost the confidence of the contestants and winners. 

“Briana went in as a shy girl and came out as a very fluent public speaker,” Liles said. “It’s a lot more than just a crown. These girls learn life skills there too.”

Their time as a titleholder with the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant also provides them experience that they can put on their college applications and scholarship applications, she added. 

This year, the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant has more than 100 sponsors and is awarding more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to contestants and winners. Each contestant under the age of 9 will receive prizes worth at least $250, while older contestants will receive prizes worth at least $400. 

The 8th annual Five Hills Scholarship Pageant will be held March 27, at the Copperas Cove Civic Center, starting at 1 p.m.