Loveta Cheralyn "Chera-Lyn" Cook, (born October 7, 1976) crowned Miss Kentucky

Miss Kentucky

The Miss Kentucky competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss America pageant. Kentucky has once won the Miss America crown.- Winners :...

 1998, was the first young woman from southeast Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 to win the Miss Kentucky title.

Pageants

Representing the title of Miss Lexington, but claiming London, Kentucky

London, Kentucky

-Education:All of the following schools are administered by the Laurel County School District.-Primary schools:* * * * * * * * * * * * -High schools:* * -Colleges:* Laurel Technical College* * -Notable natives:...

 as her hometown, Chera-Lyn had previously held the titles of Miss Central Kentucky, Miss Fayette County

Fayette County, Kentucky

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....

, Miss Monticello, and Miss Southeast Kentucky. A double preliminary winner at Miss Kentucky, Chera-Lyn won talent preliminary at Miss America

Miss America

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 singing, "When a Man Loves a Woman

When a Man Loves a Woman (song)

"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time...

", and placed 4th runner-up to Miss America 1999. Other titles held include National Sweetheart

National Sweetheart

Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1952 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart....

, 1997, and National All American Teen 1992. Chera-Lyn was preliminary talent winner at Miss Kentucky in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Music

Chera-Lyn is a seasoned performer in the genre of Country Music. She began singing on stage at the age of eight and has continued her love of music since then, culminating in her first released album (April 22, 2011), Blue. The album is a collection of songs by the best in the business and Chera-Lyn has contributed her own songwriting skills to this labor of love.
The album is available for download and purchase at iTunes. Click the upper left corner for the link or search Chera-Lyn Kennedy on iTunes.

Awards and recognitions

Cook was recognized by the Joint Sessions of the Kentucky Legislature for volunteer work with at-risk youth and was the Kentucky School Psychologist of the Year in 2004. Her platform issue at Miss America

Miss America

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

, Children's Miracle Network

Children's Miracle Network

The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals is an international non-profit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals, medical research and community awareness of children's health issues. The organization, founded in 1982 by the Osmond family and John Schneider, is headquartered in...

, was later adopted by the Miss America Scholarship Organization as a national platform. She was also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

External links

• 'Blue' album on iTunes