Here she is ...

COEUR d'ALENE - To Kylee Solberg, the Miss Meridian Scholarship Program is much more than sashes and crowns.

She explained that the road to Miss Idaho is also about perseverance, self-improvement, commitment, sacrifice and service to others.

"One thing is, when people hear 'pageant,' there's a stereotype," Solberg said. "This offers so much to young women through growth, through confidence and really allowing young women to achieve their goals."

Solberg, 20, of Coeur d'Alene, was crowned the 2015 Miss Meridian on March 28 following a competition where about a dozen young ladies were evaluated in four categories as well as given a composite score based on overall performance. The areas of competition were: Presentation and community achievement in interview; artistic expression; presence and poise in evening wear; and lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit.

"I am very excited," Solberg said. "Being able to have the support from my family and the opportunity to compete was a little overwhelming, but it paid off in the end."

Solberg won judges' hearts with her numerous scholastic honors, community involvement, leadership experience, musical accomplishments and passion for civic duties as well as her classical ballet talent, warm personality and commitment to her own health and the well-being of others. She won the Spirit of Miss Meridian Award, the lifestyle and fitness category and she achieved honors for the most advertisements, all of which awarded her $500 in scholarships. Her platform issue is "Hunger Can't Wait" and as Miss Meridian, she will be endeavoring to end hunger in her communities.

"We do have families in situations that they need help, they need assistance," she said. "Hunger is one of those things that we take for granted. When we're hungry, we just go get something to eat and there are others who just can't make that happen at certain times in their life."

Not only did Solberg start preparing and training for the competition in January, she also had to fly or drive seven hours to Meridian and Kuna just to prepare for and compete in the big day. A Miss North Idaho program is in the works for 2016, but Solberg was ready to go the distance now.

"There were definitely some obstacles," she said. "But it was worth it."

The Meridian program director, Trish Davis of Victor, Idaho, said Solberg's dedication to the program despite the travel time is beyond impressive.

"It just showed me how much she really believes in this," Davis said. "She is in it to make a difference."

Solberg is enrolled in 19 credits at North Idaho College and plans to transfer to Boise State University this fall where she will earn a bachelor's degree in communications. The Coeur d'Alene High School grad works at The Coeur d'Alene Resort and Spa and coordinates on-site weddings, a job which she loves.

She spends about six hours each week training in ballet and teaching dance, she is a former Distinguished Young Woman, serves on the DYW committee and she volunteers at community events.

She said her No. 1 hero is her mom, Raine Solberg, for "making any dream or goal limitless for me," and she said she credits much of her success to ballet instructor Ceci Klein, whose lessons went much deeper "than just ballet." Solberg loves singing, being outdoors and keeping busy, but admitted that she also enjoys some screen time.

"I am a Netflix junkie," she said with a giggle.

The Miss Meridian competition was Solberg's first Miss America-type pageant, but she understands what it's like to be less than perfect. She suffered from amblyopia, or "lazy eye," and had to wear an eye patch until the age of 8. She also had hip dysplasia as a child and had to wear a harness to pop her hip back into its socket.

"It's definitely something I learned from," she said. "From a young age, I learned that just because someone looks different doesn't mean you treat them any different."

Solberg will be heading to the Miss Idaho Scholarship Program pageant in Nampa from June 19-20, where she will compete against more than 20 young ladies from across the state. If she wins, she will represent Idaho in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City in September as well as continue to earn scholarships toward her education. She said she is looking forward to the Miss Idaho pageant, where she is eager to make connections with other title holders.

"We're all working for the same goal. We all want to accomplish great things," she said. "We want to promote change within the community and be excellent role models."

April 18 is the Miss America National Day of Service, so Miss Meridian will be organizing a team to hold food drives for the food bank as well as raise money for Children's Miracle Network, a Miss America partner. She said she will have a table in front of North 40 Outfitters most Fridays and/or Saturday to collect money for the nonprofit and on April 23 she will be volunteering at the Coeur d'Alene Best Western chili cookoff in support of the local food banks.

Info: www.missidaho.org or find "Miss Meridian Scholarship Program" on Facebook.