Miss America pageant Erika Harold recently spoke at the Kankakee Country Club on October 26 to honor their own. More than 175 people were there to recognize this year’s YES Magazine Woman of the Year, other distinguished guests and for Harold, who is also the Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General and Miss America 2003. The event is to showcase and recognize outstanding women leaders in the area and Harold had a chance to share her story of her own experiences about overcoming adversity. She was at one time a victim of high school bullying, and she decided to empower herself and others by finding a career in the law industry. She told the audience that overcoming adversity is the hardest thing to do, but it is also the most rewarding. In addition to that, she shared her experiences about becoming a pageant winner by letting others see her inner beauty firstly and foremost. The Urbana, Illinois native grew up facing many difficulties in school as she was a victim of bullying, racism, and sexual harassment. She ended up attending the University of Illinois where she earned a B.A. in political science and was a Chancellor’s Scholar. She became Miss America 2003 using her official platform of “Preventing Youth Violence and Bullying: Protect Yourself, Respect Yourself”. In addition to that, as part of her platform she also became a national spokesperson for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national advocacy group. On August 15, 2017, Harold announced that she would be running for the Republican nomination to be Illinois attorney general in March 2018. Harold was the guest speaker for this year’s event at the Kankakee Country Club on October 26 to help honor some of the greatest and more influential around. Over 175 people attended the event, which Harold was the main speaker for, and she shared some of her own stories of her rocky road to success that began during her childhood.