TO CONGRATULATE SPARTANBURG'S DAVIA BUNCH, MISS SOUTH CAROLINA 2018, AND TO COMMEND THE DISCIPLINE, ASPIRATIONS, AND TALENT THAT HAVE ENABLED HER TO REPRESENT THE PALMETTO STATE WITH DIGNITY AND POISE.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to learn that Davia Bunch, named Miss South Carolina 2018 on Saturday, June 30, 2018, is serving as an excellent ambassador for the Palmetto State during her reign; and
Whereas, possessing both talent and intelligence, the twenty-one-year-old beauty competed as Miss Spartanburg and was crowned Miss South Carolina in the finals of the competition held at the historic Township Auditorium in Columbia; and
Whereas, Ms. Bunch, a ballerina who had hung up her ballet shoes for love of academia, resumed her dance and performed en pointe to "Feel It Still." She was a double preliminary winner in the pageant, not only for talent, but also for swimsuit, and she competed in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2018; and
Whereas, a 2015 graduate of Dorman High School, she lost her mother to leukemia in January 2013 after an eight-year battle, when Davia was just fifteen years old; and
Whereas, she has worked to pass legislation in an effort to get more information on bone marrow donations placed in DMV offices, and as Miss South Carolina, Ms. Bunch has continued her efforts with her platform, "Be the Match: Become the Cure," to bring awareness to donating bone marrow; and
Whereas, she is grateful for the opportunity her title is giving her to advocate, especially among college students, for people battling leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers, since eighteen to twenty-four are the prime ages for giving bone-marrow donations because of the health of blood cells then; and
Whereas, during her reign, Ms. Bunch also has been raising money and awareness for the organization's platform, the Children's Miracle Network; and
Whereas, a junior at the University of South Carolina (USC), she was awarded a forty thousand-dollar scholarship toward completing her education but is taking a gap year to perform her duties as Miss South Carolina; and
Whereas, while the Miss South Carolina pageant awarded more than one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars in scholarship money, the contestants also raised more than one hundred sixty-nine thousand dollars for the Children's Miracle Network in South Carolina; and
Whereas, after completing her year of service with the Miss America Organization, Ms. Bunch plans to return to USC to complete a bachelor's degree in political science with a desire to serve one day as a senior executive for a nonprofit organization; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in recognizing such an outstanding young woman and representative of this great State as Davia Bunch, and the members wish her well as she continues her reign and pursues her dreams in the years to come. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Davia Bunch, Miss South Carolina 2018, and commend the discipline, aspirations, and talent that have enabled her to represent the Palmetto State with dignity and poise.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Davia Bunch.